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THE PROPAGATION 

OF 

MINK AND MARTEN 



BY 

W. G. GATES 

Formerly in Charge of the Government Experimental Fur 
Farm at Pritchard, Idaho 



d-fi-IW 'c- 






Copyright Applied For 
1915 



Shaw & Borden Co. 

Printers. Spokane 

■6t i^ 



NQV 22 1915 
©CI.4414 74 9 ~ ^^ 




W. G. GATES 



THE PROPAGATION 

of 

MINK AND MARTEN 

hy 
W. G. GATES 

A book of information on Mink 
and Marten, setting fortk suck 
facts as I Ka\)e gained by six 
years of experience in Kandling 
tnem from trap-line to breeding 
pens. Also some deductions and 
theories. 

W. G. GATES. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter , Page 

I ntroductory 9 

I. Opportunity 1 1 

II. \\'ante(l— A Live Wire 16 

III. lUisine.^.slike Fur Farming 20 

I\'. The Mink: Its Nature. Habits, Dis- 
eases and Ailments 31 

V. Questions: (A continuation of Chap- 
ter I V ) 44 

VI. The Marten 55 

VII. Breeding, and Raising" the Young 61 

VIII. Fencing 74 

IX. Traps and Trapping- 91 

X. Slaughtering and Preserving" Meat for 

Animal Food 106 

XI. A School : Its Purpose and the Advis- 
ability Thereof 1 12 

XII. General Comments 117 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Frontispiece. Page 

How \\'e Go Fishing' 12 

A Bunch of Marten 18 

Umbrella Rock (just a scene on the North 

Fork) '.. 24 

Snow Picture, with lUick Deer Looking Over 

the Ridge 28 

Laches' Attire for the Woods 31 

llow to Muzzle an Animal — Vox. Mink, or 

A 1 arten 40 

Some Marten 52 

Some More Marten 56 

Still Other Positions 60 

A Half Grown Kitten 64 

A Jndl Grown Alink, 12 Months Old; also 

Inside Corner of Pen and Bath Tub 68 

A Bunch of Mink 72 

A Row of Pens, Last Two Covered for Marten 76 
Side View of Pens, Showing Collar on I'ree, 

and 10-ft. Pen Divided 78 

Section of l'\Mice, Showing Screen Flashing 

in the (iround 83 

Construction of \\'ater System 84 

Construction of Nest Box (side removed) 90 

A Bunch of Young Trappers That Have Made 

Good With the Gates Trap 92 

Log Trap (back and front ends) 98 

Log Trap, Showing How Gaffs Are Put In 102 

How a Corner Is Notched Together — and a 

Fox "^ 110 

Log House Ready for Shakes ( Fox on Cor- 
ner) 1 1 6 

8 



INTRODUCTORY 

MOXEY — aiul the CDiiiforts and luxuries 
that it will buy, is what all men are looking for. 
Happiness is the prime ol)iect in this life; and 
how ean a man be happy when he is wearing his 
life away, overburdened with excessive toil, hard- 
ships, and pri\ations? I low can a man be happy 
when he is worrying himself gray over an occu- 
pation, business, or profession that does NOT 
get the money? And, it does make a difference 
how we get it. Xo man really enjoys the good 
things of life on the mone}' that he gets dishon- 
estly. Some may think they do, but they are mis- 
taken. He may say he does, but he lies. And no 
man can enjv)y life, e\en though he is getting 
fair wages, if he is overworking his body and 
grinding his very life away to produce wealth 
for some one else, of which he does not get a fair 
proportion. If a man works all day, harder 
than he is physical!}' able to, he is so tired at 
night that he cannot enjoy the few remaining 
hours off (hits "Then what shall it profit a man 
if he gaineth a big pay check and loseth his own 
health, mind and body?" Or. what does he get 
in exchange for the old carcass that is swallowed 
up by the grave? To live a life that is fit to live, 
and gain an occupation that is both pleasant and 
profitable has long been the aim and ambition 
of your humble servant. A\"e believe we have 
found it and cheerfully submit on the following 
pages, our ])lan for your consideration. 

9 



THE PROPAGATION OF 
MINK AND MARTEN 

CHAPTER I 
OPPORTUNITY 

Opportunity, they say, knocks once at every 
man's door. That doesn't necessarily imply that 
it knocks but once. I have known of men meet- 
ing one good business opportunity after another 
all through life and passing them all up unheeded, 
unrecognized Josh l)illings said "The trouble 
with most jjeople is, their hind sight is better 
than their fore sight." They can look back and 
see where they could at one time, have gotten in 
on the ground floor and made a barrel of money, 
(away back in the hoi)eless past) but the oppor- 
tunity went to another. They failed to see it in 
time. That is the history of the down-and-outer 
in most every line of business. It is particularly 
true in the Black Fox Business. About 20 years 
ago, when the Pioneer Fox Men ventured upon 
the unique and "extremely precarious" business 
of Fox Farming there was a bunch of knockers 
that hooted at the idea. Their hoots and jeers 
overwhelmed a few of the weak-kneed and they 
fell by the wayside. 

Those that had a mind of their own stayed 
with it and almost to a man they became wealthy. 
Many of them millionaires. The black fox busi- 
ness today is paying bigger dividends on the 
capital invested than any other legitimate busi- 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 13 

ness in the Dominion of Canada. It represents 
millions of dollars. Now there are scores of poor 
old poverty-stricken bonfe heads that are looking 
back sorrowfully at what might have been theirs. 
But, says Mr. Knocker, "The Fox Business is 
on the decline; it isn't paying the big dividends 
that it used to." Oh, is that so? No doubt it 
isn't paying any one man or company as big divi- 
dends as it did the originators. Why should it? 
But it is paying more money in dividends than 
ever before, only to a greater numl^er of dollars 
invested and consequently, at a smaller rate per 
cent. One could hardly expect a business to con- 
tinue paying from five hundred to one thousand 
per cent forever. The fox business did this for a 
few years. Those who were wise and not afraid 
got busy and made the big money; and also, a 
stable and well paying industry for their country. 
Now the same conditions and reasons that act- 
uated the fox raiser are behind the MINK and 
MARTEN business. The love of the almighty 
dollar and what it represents, and the prospect of 
getting it. The country is being so rapidly and 
surely settled up, that it is only a matter of a few 
more years, precious few at that, when our Mink 
and Marten furs will have taken their place with 
the Buffalo robe in the regretable past. The only 
chance we have to conserve our Mink and Mar- 
ten is to raise them in captivity. This affords 
a good business opportunity to not only the 
trapper, but to thousands of others who enjoy 
out door life and a business that will permit them 



14 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MAKTEN 

to live it. Since we know that the ])rice of any 
commercial commodity is regulated by the sup- 
ply and demand, we feel sure of a bountiful price 
forever for our furs. But don't think we are 
going to start into the fur farming business on 
a pelt basis. It will be many, many years before 
we will have to sell an animal that is fit for 
breeding pur[)Oses, for its "fur-value." 

The Fox business hasn't reached a i)elt basis 
yet and it is a little more than 20 years old. They 
are still selling breeding stock at from five to 
fifteen thousand dollars a pair. It takes big 
money to get into the Fox business now. Before 
the European war a good Mink hide was worth 
$10.00. A number one black Marten was worth 
about $35.00. Xow commerce and industry are 
so completely paralyzed that the fur markets of 
London, Paris and Berlin have ceased to exist. 
This "crimp" in the fur business of the world 
gives the fur-bearers a chance to save their hides 
for a while. . 

This is the time to secure breeding stock, if 
you are going to use wild stock to begin with ; 
and most all new ranches will have to do so, 
•for there isn't enough ranch-raised stock to stock 
many new farms at present. 

This war isn't going to last forever, and when 
it's over, commerce will be resumed, business re- 
established. Then the man who has taken time 
by the forelock and established himself in the 
Mink and Marten business, will reap his reward. 
We must sow before we can rcai), and if we 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 15 

neglect our sowing till harvest time we will have 
no harvest; that's all. Some people can't see that 
far ahead. "S'ou can always tell these people. 
Yon will find them driving nails or wielding a 
pick and shmxl for some contract(ir, or bowing 
their back o\er some other man's desk. They 
never look any farther ahead than from one pay- 
day to another. But there is another sort, one 
that CAN see these things, but just can't muster 
up enough energy to act. Haven't got the cour- 
age of their convictions. Xo back-bone. This 
fellow is just as useless, and much less excusable. 
It's not that sort of men the world is looking for. 
Show" us a "Live Wire," a man that can and will 
reason, and having reasoned and argued the 
propositi(in to a conclusion, will back his judg- 
ment with his money or lea\e it alone and go 
to looking foi something that he thinks is good. 



16 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 



CHAPTER II 

WANTED— A "LIVE WIRE" 

To that kind of a man I most rcs])ectfully sub- 
mit the following" facts : 

First — Ranch-raised furs (if raised and cared 
for intelligently)- are just as much better than the 
average wild furs as a well bred horse is better 
than a cayuse, or a tame hog is better than a wild 
hog. 

Second — Any fur-bearer improves its coat up 
to a certain time each season. After the fur has 
got as long and dark as it will, and the guard 
hairs have attained their full length and lustre, 
the hide is absolutely "prime" (thin all over and 
entirely white on the inside) then the hide is at 
its best and fiom that time on it is on the decline 
in value. Then by the weather, and the condi- 
tion of his animals, the fur-farmer knows when 
to take off the hide and he can do so when he 
chooses. 

Third — The trapper has to catch his before he 
can skin them, and it is impossible to catch them 
all when they are at their best, so he has all kinds 
of hides, from trash to number one. It is very 
seldom, howe\'er, that he gets a number one or 
gets credit for it if he does get one. 

A summer fur is worthless. 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 17 

Fourth — \\ hen it comes to selHng his furs the 
best that a trapper ever gets is the worst of it. 
The few remaining fur animals are fast being 
cleaned up by amateur trappers mostly, who 
catch them any old time (just so their neighbor 
don't get them) either before the fur is prime or 
after it begins to loosen. Consequently they get 
from twenty-five cents to a dollar for hides that 
would have brought ten times that much if taken 
at the proper time. Suppose a wheat farmer cut 
his crop a month or two before it had time to 
fill, or waited till it was half shelled out before 
harvesting. 

Fifth — The difference between the price that a 
trapper gets for his furs and the ])rice that the 
consumer pays for them is something amazing 
to say the least. The consumer as a rule has no 
idea what price the trapper gets for his furs and 
the poor devil that catches them never sees 
money enough to buy them back after they leave 
his hands. Who gets the money? The fur 
buyer; the exporter; the tanner; the manufact- 
urer in the sweat shops of Europe; the importer; 
the jobber; the wholesaler ; the retailer; the rail- 
roads and steamshi]) lines. And who gets it in 
the neck? Both the trapper and the consumer. 
What are we going to do about it? The con- 
sumer can't help himself, and as trappers, we 
can't, but as fur-farmers, WE CAN. 

When the market for breeding stock is sup- 
plied and we have furs to sell we can raise, tan, 
make up, and sell our product at home; "and 




A Fiuncli of Marten 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 19 

though our home be iu the wilderness, the world 
will make a beaten path to our door." 

Sixth — The only way we have of judging the 
future is by past events and present prospects 
and conditions. All of these indicate that the 
raising of MINK and MARTEN is going to 
become a great industry in the United States, 
even as the Fox business has become great in 
Canada, especially on Prince Edward Island. 
MINK and MARTEN raising is going to outdo 
the Fox business in time and as soon as it is 
generally known that it is a success, there will 
be a grand rush to get into the business. Breed- 
ing stock will be selling at prices that would 
scare you if we would attempt to name them 
now. That will be the time to BE in it, not 
to GET in it. GET in now. N-O-W, now. 



20 THE PEOPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

CHAPTER III 
BUSINESSLIKE FUR-FARMING 

Now if we are going to raise Mink and Marten 
successfnlly, we must go at it in a scientific, busi- 
nesslike way. We must have a farm properly 
equipped for the purpose. Devote all of our 
time to it and run it on a sufficiently large scale 
to justify this The time may come when anyone 
can raise these animals in the back yard as we 
do ferrets or rabbits now, but at present our 
knowledge on the subject is too limited and our 
breeding stock not far enough removed from the 
wild state to enable us to do this. 

We would hardly expect a man who had never 
had any experience in raising horses, cattle, 
sheep, or hogs to take up any of these lines of 
stock farming and make a success of it, even 
though he had domestic stock to start with and 
a whole library of reliable information to draw 
upon. 

Then why should we expect indi\iduals to em- 
bark in a business of which they know almost 
nothing at all, with no source of information to 
draw upon and with wild stock, to win success? 
Our farm animals have been domesticated hun- 
dreds of years, yet the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture is maintaining farms to carry on 
experiments with all of these, and gaining val- 
uable information every year. The most success- 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 21 

ful farmer is no longer the one with the most 
grown np sons to do the work, but the one who 
reads the l)est up-to-date agricultural papers and 
keeps in touch with the government experiments 
by reading their bulletins. The scientific farmer 
that gathers all a\ailal)le knowledge and profits 
by the experienc of others. The government 
maintains these stations for the benefit of these 
investigating farmers. The government has 
financed this experiment these last three years, 
since it got too big for my pocketbook which was 
steadily getting thinner. I didn't realize the mag- 
nitude of my undertaking wdien I started it ; 
couldn't see the many expensive mistakes and 
stumbling blocks that lay ahead of me for 
nobody had blazed the trail. But I soon found 
out that the business was a good one if the rais- 
ing of Mink could be accomplished. I met many 
obstacles but always found a way to overcome 
them, and as each one appeared and disappeared 
I had more knowledge and understanding, and 
more faith in the business. 

Many others, I find have started to raise Alink 
and most of them, yes I dare say 98%, have 
become discouraged and quit at their first failure. 
I would have had to quit, or take in a partner 
(which generally spells failure) if the U. S. 
Biological Survey had not come to the rescue 
and helped me to carry on the work. And if the 
information that this little book contains, proves 
a benefit to its readers and helps to build up a 
new industry, as I feel sure it will, we must unite 



22 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

in giving" due credit to this department of our 
government. There are very few private indi- 
viduals who are unselfish enough to spend their 
time and money to acquire knowledge that will 
become public property and help someone else as 
much as it does them. Therefore, it necessarily 
becomes a function of the government to aid 
such enterprises as it considers w^orthy, and 
possible to develop into an industry for the bene- 
fit of all of the people and an asset to the country. 
As for myself, 1 felt that "The laborer was 
worthy of his hire ;" and that if I stuck to it and 
made it win, I would surely get my reward. I 
had faith in it. most im])licit, from the start and 
every day that faith has grown stronger until 
now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it 
is not only possible, but entirely practical ; I 
know that it is a well paying business, sure to 
develop into a l)ig industry, and make the men 
that make the business, well to do at least, if not 
wealthy. Some people (who are thoughtless to 
say the least) expect us to know all about mink 
and marten. They don't know that it takes many 
generations to teach us what they want to know 
about these animals. As I have said before, the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture is still maintain- 
ing experiment stations to study our farm ani- 
mals and they have been domesticated hundreds 
of years. The Mink and Marten are just coming 
into the domestic family. We have learned some- 
thing of them to be sure, but there is much yet 
to learn. We feel, however, that we have learned 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 23 

enough to l)e able to judge what kind of stock 
we want to raise and how to go about it. We 
have learned how to trap ; not pelts, but live ani- 
mals. To g"et them alive and uninjured and keep 
them alive. We have learned to feed them ; to 
select and ])rocure such foods as they will thrive 
on and to a\'oid unwholsome diets. We have 
learned what we believe to be the best methods 
of fencing'; what precautions along this line are 
necessary and safe and what are not. We have 
learned to breed them and raise the young. Now 
we have learned the fundamental principles of 
this particular branch of fur farming, we must 
pay some attention to the scientific part of it. 
We must learn more of their habits and their 
very nature. What breeds of mink are most 
desirable for raising in different localities, and 
why. To most ]:)eople, no doubt, a mink is a 
mink. But there are dift'erent breeds of mink the 
same as there are of other animals. These breeds 
are characterized by their size, color, texture of 
fur, teeth, skull, etc. Each have their own 
respective natural range as a rule, but they some- 
times overlap. In that case they are likely to 
interbreed and produce an animal that has some 
of the characteristics of the two parent tribes or 
breeds. These crosses are exceptions and don't 
l)ropagate by themselves so as to form a new 
and distinct breed. The habits of different breeds 
are also somewhat varied, owing to the varied 
conditions of the different i^arts of the country 
in which they live. 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 25 

Ak)St ex-er}' "Old Trapper" who has tram])C(l 
the world over as only a trapper will, has noticed 
that Florida mink are not like those in Michigan 
or that the mink from the lower Mississippi Val- 
ley are not like those from N(_)rth Idaho, Mon- 
tana, Eastern \\'ashint;ton and British Columbia. 
He has noticed the difference in hides taken from 
different ])arts of the country. If he was too 
thick headed and unobserxinj^' to notice the dif- 
ference in the hides, he would sit up and take 
notice when he t^-ot his check from the fur buyer. 
In a few years more the first thiui^- a fur buyer 
will consider is. "What breed is it "' They do 
that now, only instead of sayinj^" "what breed is 
it?" they say. "Where did it come from?" 

There are still jdaces where we can catch "all 
kinds of mink" (that is. if "a luink is a mink.") 
lUit who would go into the poultry business and 
select Ijantams or Blue Games to supply the 
market fc:>r talde ft)wls? 

Then why raise "Cotton Mink" for their furs? 
It takes no more time, food and trouble to raise 
a thoroughbred than it does to raise a scrub, 
and you get three or four times as much for one 
as you do for the other. The reason is quite 
obvious why we should be particular about select- 
ing our breeding stock. Of course a "Cotton 
Mink" may be a "thoroughbred," but they are an 
undersirable breed. What we call a ''cotton" 
mink is one that has fur that may be fairly dark 
on the outside, but when you blow it apart and 
look in next to the hide it is almost white. The 



26 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

dark color don't run in on the fur. The guard 
hairs are not so long' and dark and silky on these 
"cotton" mink as they are on the northern breeds. 
The cotton mink is not a breed by itself, but 
rather a characteristic of several different natural 
breeds whose range is in warm climates. They 
range from the Chesapeake Bay on south along 
the coast and through the southern states, and 
along the coast of California up as far as Hum- 
boldt Bay. 

There is a very desirable breed along the Xew 
England coast, ranging as far south as Chesa- 
peake Bay and west along the Ohio River to 
the Mississippi. They rim up into the lower 
peninsula of Michigan and from there on east- 
ward to the Catskill mountains, they overlap the 
range of another mink that is a little smaller and 
possibly a shade darker. This is what I call the 
Canadian Mink. It's range is through Eastern 
Canada as far west as the Hudson Bay. In the 
upper Mississi]:)pi Valley there is another type, 
slightly larger but j^aler than the eastern "mink, 
but a good animal at that. This breed rims as 
far west as the Rocky Mountains, where they 
seem to grow darker and larger and in fact 
average up better, while at the same time retain 
the other characteristics that mark the breed. 
Then througli the Rocky Mountains from central 
Colorado on north through Wyoming, Montana, 
North Idaho. Eastern Washington and u]) 
through liritish Columl)ia there rang'es a mink 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 27 

that to m\- notion is the l)est all around animal 
for a fur farmer to handle. 

This mink is as dark as the eastern mink and 
it's hide measures uj) from three to five inches 
longer. The fur is about the same quality, long 
and thick, guard hairs fine and silky. A small 
head and l)ig neck marks this animal ; also a long, 
well furred tail. 

The Canadian Mink before mentioned, is a 
\ery desirable animal for the fur farmer. This 
animal is not so large as some others, but on 
account of it's dark pellage, it is worth fully as 
much as the Xew England or the Idaho and 
British Columbia Mink. There is a big "rangy" 
Mink along- the Alaskan coast; color pale and 
has a big- head and heavy jaws. On the interior 
of Alaska there is a better animal, quite large 
and dark, though not so dark as the Eastern 
Canadian, but on account of it's exceptionally 
long fur 1 thiiik it would make an excellent cross 
with this breed or the New England or Idaho 
and British Columbia -Mink. The finest and 
largest of all the Mink family has been extermi- 
nated. This animal used to range in the vicinity 
of Penobscot Bay, uj) to about sixty years ago. 
It was known as the "'Sea Mink" and was almost 
twdce as large as our largest Mink of today. The 
hides would often measure as much as sixty 
inches long on a l)oard six or seven inches wide. 
The fur was of a reddish brown cast, very thick 
and the guard hair was inclined to be coarse and 
lacked the lustre of that of the smaller breeds. 




Snow Picture, 
With Buck Deer Looking Over the Ridge 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 29 

On account of it's size and value the Sea Mink 
was more closely pursued by the "Pelt Snatcher" 
than the others and extermination was of course 
the natural consequence. Ten thousand dollars 
would be cheap for a pair of these precious ani- 
mals now. But the fur farmer comes too late to 
save them. Now the next best breeds are next 
in line for extermination, and they are fast 
approaching- it. They are the Idaho and British 
Columbia Mink. The Canadian or Prince 
Edward Island Mink, the New England, the 
Alaskan (inland) and the Mink of the upper 
Mississippi Valley which I will designate as the 
"Minnesota." There is not so much difference 
in these northern breeds as there is in the indi- 
viduals of each breed, when it comes to picking- 
breeding stock, but the finest specimens of each 
breed will be chosen to make up the domestic 
stock for the fur farmer. These breeds will be 
crossed and bred up until we have as many as 
possible of the most desirable features of each 
one combined in one strain of stock. For 
instance, we may seek to combine the long fur 
of the Alaskan, with the dark fur of the Prince 
Edward Island or New England and the large 
size of the Idaho and British Columbia Mink. 
Thus making a more valuable animal than any 
of the original stock. A strain like this would 
naturally acquire the distinction of a distinct 
breed and take its name, probably, from the 
breeder or the location in which it originated, as 
"Morgan"' horses, or "Shropshire" sheep. 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 



CHAPTER T\' 

THE MINK— ITS NATURE, HABITS, DIS- 
EASES AND AILMENTS. 

There are :i few diseases and ailments of tlie 
Mink in the wild state. There are others to 
which they are sul)jected only in captivity. By 
a thorough understanding' of these ailments we 
may he enabled to correctly diagnose and suc- 
cessfully treat them so as to render them harm- 
less to this branch of the fur farming' business. 
The best way by which to arri\e at an under- 
standing" of the diseases of an animal is to first 
understand the animal. Let us see then, what 
is a Mink, is it a land or water animal? It is 
amfil)ious, or both. Although it divides its 
time mostly in favor of the land. To what family 
does it belong-; the cat family? No, to the Mus- 
telidae family (the same family to which the 
Weasel belongs), Sub family Mustelinae, genus 
Putorius, sub genus, Vison. (The cat is 
Mustela Felis.) Is it carniverous, herbiverous 
or omniveroiis? Strictly speaking, it is carni- 
verous, but can be taught to eat other foods such 
as bread and milk and cooked vegetables. They 
are fond of fish and shell-fish such as shrimp, 
crawfish and clams or mussels. How large is a 
Mink.-" A big buck will weigh about four pounds. 
A full grown fcnialc not mr»rc than three. A 



32 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

big hide will stretch thirty-six or thirty-eight 
inches from tip to tip, on a board three and one- 
half inches wide. That is big mink though, more 
of them stretch thirty-four or less. Habits? 
Both diurnal and nocturnal. Great hunters and 
fierce fighters. If a mink finds a store of food 
(a fisherman's "cache" for instance) he will steal 
every fish and make a "cache" of his own. If fish 
are strung on a willow and left in the water, a 
mink will unjoint them at the neck and carry 
them all away. I've known a mink to steal a 
basket of eggs and roll them to a place of safety 
without breaking an egg. They seem to be very 
cunning in their own way but are not at all cjuick 
to learn the ^-hings that man would teach them. 
On this account they are undesirable as pets. 
They are a very clean animal if they have a 
chance to be clean and cannot stand filth. Filth 
breeds disease with the mink as with most other 
animals. They are very playful and enjoy their 
bath; they will roll one another over and over 
in the water, dive and duck each other under 
and have a general "rough and tumble." 

The following questions have been asked me 
by the chief of the Biological Survey and others 
who are investigating: 

O. ^Vhat ailments and diseases have you 
found affecting the Mink? 

A. One, Gangreen of the stomach and intes- 
tines; 2, suppuration of bites and scratches; 3, ab- 
scesses and boils; 4, rickets in young mink; 5, 
rheumatism in young and old mink; 6, lung para- 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 33 

sites (a small grub); 7. stomach worms; 8, 
stomach and intestinal worms; 9. tape worms; 
10, paralysis; 11, mani^e ; 12, lice and mites; 13. 
dissentery; 14, excessive fat; 15, grubs or 
warbles. 

Q. ^^l^at is the cause, sym])t<)ms and treat- 
ment of these diseases? 

A. One, gangreen of stomach and intestines. 
Cause, a filthy ]^en ; feeding spoiled meat, or 
throwing- g-ood clean food in a dirty place for the 
mink to eat. 

Symptoms: Emaciation, dumi>ishness, loss of 
a])petite, and ]:>lood in feces. 

Treatment: Proxide a warm, clean, dry place 
for the animal. If the animal is used to nesting 
with (ither animals do not segregate, but leave 
two or three others to kec]) the sick one warm 
and for company. Proxide a tub or pool of clear 
pure water at least twelve inches deep for the 
animal to swim in and feed two ounces a day of 
lean meat and bread and milk, if animal will eat 
it. Keep strangers awa\- and do not excite the 
animal unnecessarily. 

Two. Sup])uration of ])ites and scratches. 

Symptoms : Self evident, indicative of bad 
blood, generally caused by feeding tainted meat. 

Treatment : Boil a basin of water and cool 
down to where you can bear your hand in it. 
Work up a good lather with casteel soap or 
Synol soap. To a (juart of this suds add a half 
teaspoon full of carbolic acid or Lysol. Use a 
medium coarse sponge and wash the affected 



34 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

parts twice a day thoroughly. Keep nest and pen 
clean and free from vermin. Rince out the pan 
and never let the water stand over to use again. 
Provide gunny sacks or clean rags for the mink 
to crawl into and dry ofif on after the treatment. 

Three. Abscesses and 1)oils. Caused gener- 
ally by a bruise and bad blood; or by a grub in 
the skin. 

Symptoms: A swelling appears; it may have 
an opening and it may not; hard around outside 
and soft in center, or soft all over. 

Treatment: If there is no opening it should 
be lanced ; use a sharp pointed knife, dipped first 
in iodine or carbolic solution. In lancing be 
careful to not get any deeper than the puss sack. 
Squeeze out the puss and syringe out with a 
solution of carbolic acid. Keep open till well 
healed up. A\'ash twice a day, and always give 
animal rags to dry off on. 

Four. Rickets in young mink Caused by 
lack of lime in the system. 

Symptoms: Hind legs are weak and crooked; 
drawn up and have a grissly fealing where there 
should be nothing but red meat or muscle. The 
kitten will try to walk, but since it can't 
straighten out its hind legs, it kind of "hitches" 
along behind Avhile walking normally in front. 
It hasn't much use of the hind legs. 

Treatment : llie best treatment for this is to 
prevent it. During the period of gestation the 
mother mink should be fed good palatable food, 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 35 

such as lean meat, milk with l)read or cornbread 
in it and groand or finely ])()unded fresh bone, 
mixed with minced meat once ov twice a week. 
If it has not been prevented and you find the kit- 
tens suffering; from this trouble, feed the mother 
nursing them a little lime water in her milk, and 
if the kittens will drink milk, feed them a little 
in theirs. A teaspoonful to a pint of milk is 
enough to start with, then increase to a table- 
spoonful, gradually. Rub the legs and gently 
pull them as near straight as you can without 
hurting the animal. Give them plenty of sun- 
shine and keep nest clean, warm and dry. A 
kitten may recover from rickets and make a 
good fur but I would not advise keeping one 
that had ever been so afifected. for breeding 
purposes. 

Five. Rheumatism in young and old mink. 
Cause, impure l^lood. damp nests, lack of exercise 
and old age. 

Symptoms: Swelling of feet and legs; inac- 
tivity, and sometimes a whining cry of the ani- 
mal. The mink has a stiff, awkward gait and 
when approached, instead of running to get away 
it will generally show^ fig^it. Sometimes turning 
over on its back, and sticking its feet up as if to 
ward you ofif. 

Treatment : If you are feeding a mixed diet 
of meat and bread and milk, cut down on the 
meat and feed more bread and milk. Kee]) the 
animal Avarm and dry, and rub the rheumatic 
legs with liniment of one-third turpentine and 



36 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

two-thirds laid. Two or three treatments a day 
should be given. 

Six. Lung- Parasite. Cause unknown to me ; 
it doesn't seem to be contagious nor infectuous. 

Sxmptoms : Emaciation ; short-windedness ; 
upon violent exercise the animal shows weak- 
ness ; humps up its back and has a wobbly, stag- 
gering gait, especially in the hind parts. 

Treatment : T know of none except good feed 
and quiet until the hide gets prime and then take 
it ofT. Autopsy reveals a white spot on the sur- 
face of the lung, from one-quarter to three-cpiar- 
ters fo an inch in diameter. The tissue is blood- 
less and leathery and firmer than the surrounding 
tissue. It extends down into the lung to a depth 
of about one-half of the diameter. In this, will 
be found a cyst, usually, but not always, contain- 
ing water, and a little grub or worm that looks 
something like a bot in a horse, only not quite 
so "thick set." The grub is from one-quarter to 
a half an inch long, of yellowish or dirty white 
color, has a little black head and keeps up a 
writhing or spiral like motion for about an hour 
after it is removed. It will live in the lungs 
about two days after the mink is dead and parti v 
dissected. 

Seven. Stomach worms. 

Symptoms : Restlessness, especially notice- 
able when the animal is sleeping. Also just 
before feeding time in the evening;. It seems to 
be temporarily relieved by feeding the animal 
and the animal will often go to sleep soon after 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 37 

eating and sleep soundly iov a while; then 
become restless again. 

Treatment- Give ten drops of turpentine 
mixed with a teaspoonful of olive oil about noon; 
don't feed till about dark in the evening, and 
only once a day. Give this dose every day for 
three days and watch the excrement for worms. 
An autopsy has revealed as many as forty-six 
of these in one stomach. They are a very wirey, 
red worm from one-half to one inch long; about 
as big around as a pin and appear to have no 
head. They are very active. 

Eight. Stomach and Intestinal Worms. 

Symptoms: Restlessness, sliding around on 
the belly, and "sleigh-riding," or sitting down 
flat behind and sticking up the hind feet and 
drawing itself around with the front feet. These 
worms will sometimes be found in the feces 
or protruding from the anus. 

Treatment: Same as for Stomach Worms. 
Autopsy reveals a white threadlike worm, some- 
times larger, getting as large as a small knitting- 
needle, from one to three inches long. They 
move with a peristaltic motion in either direction 
and appear to have no head. I have found as 
many as twenty of these in the stomach and 
intestines of an animal. 

Nine. Tape Wcn-ms. 

Symptoms: I called this worm a tape worm 
because it looks like the tape worm, but it don't 
act like the tape worm in other animals. There 
is no emaciation, nor voracious appetite. There 



38 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

is passing of sections and even whole worms 
in the excrement. I ha\'e found them in the 
alimentary canal of the mink many times but 
they never seemed to hurt the animal nor make 
it sick, until in a case that recently came to hand. 
In this case the animal seemed to be in great pain 
and would continually cry out in a sort of bark 
or squeal. Tne trouble did not yield to the "tur- 
pentine treatment" for worms and I was unable 
to tell what ailed the animal. 1^.- acted more as 
if he was poisoned. Was bloated some, but by 
rubbing the lielly the bloat would go down and 
disappear. He lived in great pain for about forty 
hours and died. An auto])sy disclosed about a 
half teacup full of small "tape worms" from six 
inches up to twenty-eight inches long. There 
were some so fine and threadlike that one could 
hardly see them ; the largest were only about an 
eighth of an inch wide. And I can safely say 
there were at least a few hundred of them. I 
know of no remedy for this parasite. Never had 
but this one fatal case of it. 

Ten. Paralysis. 

Symptoms : First a slight swelling and dropsi- 
cal condition in the hind feet. Then as the ani- 
mal runs around the pen, it will miss a step with 
a hind foot and it will drag. The feet get cold, 
indicating poor circulation, and the hind legs 
become helpless. The hind parts now drag and 
the animal makes no attempt to stand on hind 
legs. The fur on the affected parts loses its 
gloss and appears dead; showing a distinct con- 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 39 

trast with the other. The spine becomes affected 
and the "lay"' of the fur tells just how far up 
the body it has gone. The animal appears to be 
in no pain, eats well and sleeps perhaps more 
than usual. V>y the way the animal handles 
itself you can also tell how much of the back is 
affected. It will keep creeping up the spine till 
it reaches the shoulders, and then the front feet 
will become paralized ; the animal will sleep most 
all the time now and the "dead line" in the fur 
mo\'es up on the neck. The animal can still be 
revived to consciousness, but the neck becomes 
helpless, the eyes refuse to open and death takes 
place without a struggle. The appetite will not 
be much aff'ected till the disease reaches the 
shoulders. Its progress is more rapid from then 
on. 

Treatment : When the first symptoms appear 
get busy. Take the mink by the neck so that the 
thumb and forefinger come just back of the jaws 
and don't shut the wind off. Don't be rough 
enough to injure the animal, but don't try to be 
tender. Get the mink to fighting and keep it 
fighting mad all the time. This to cause it to 
try to use its hind feet to scratch with. Pinch 
and squeeze and rub the feet and lay them on 
your leg and spank them. Work like this about 
ten minutes then, retaining your hold on the 
neck, stick the feet in hot water, (just as hot as 
you can possibly bear your hand in) and out of 
that, into the coldest water you can get, ice 
water if possible. Repeat this a dozen or more 




How to Muzzle an Animal — Fox, Mink, or Marten 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 41 

times, then rub the animal dry with a cotton rag" 
and rub into rhe fur on the affected parts and all 
over the feet, a thick ])aste made of lard and 
ground must:ird. Rub this in well. Keep the 
animal warm and give it all the sunshine there is. 
Give two tre'itments a day and feed all the fresh 
meat it will eat. In the hot and cold water treat- 
ment, get all the affected parts in and a little 
more won't hurt. I ha\'e recently lost one mink 
with paralysis by just keeping it warm, feeding- 
it and "trusting- to the Lord," and cured two 
more by the above treatment. 

Eleven. Mang'e. Cause, a jjarasite working 
in and under the skin. 

Symptoms • A lack-lustre appearance to the 
fur, scaly spots on the skin that looks something- 
like dandruff. The animal will bite and scratch 
and make a raw sore. 

Treatment : Where only a small spot appears 
I use Glovers Mange Remedy, as per directions 
for dogs, and mix it with olive oil half and half 
to rub over the rest of the body. I tried using it 
straight all over the body and killed my mink. 
If a large area of skin is affected, say the whole 
back of the animal, I dope only a portion of it at 
a time, say a third ; then after about three days 
I cover another section., and so on till the affected 
parts are all covered, then wash with carbolized 
soap suds. Watch for its reappearance, you may 
not have it all by this "sectional" method of 
treatment; if not dope the remaining spots; clean 
the pens thoroughly; also the nest boxes, and dis- 



42 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

infect with a strong solution of chloride of lime. 
Be thorough about this. Don't forget that when 
the animal's fur is wet or greasy he is subjected 
to cold as you would be if you had fallen in the 
river, so keep the animal warm. Segregate from 
the rest for mange is infectious. Give plenty of 
clean rags for the mink to crawl in under and 
keep warm, and lots of sunshine. 

Twelve. Lice and Mites. 

Symptoms • Animal scratches a great deal and 
the coat looks rough and lacks the slick appear- 
ance that it should have. An examination will 
disclose the parasites on the back of the neck and 
shoulders, and under the front legs. They may 
be all over the body. 

Treatment ■ Get Glover's Mange Remedy, mix 
with it an equal proportion of olive oil and rub 
in thoroughly all over the animal. Keep the 
animal in a good warm room with a nest of clean 
rags to crawl into. After twenty-four hours 
wash the animal thoroughly with a carbolized 
solution of soap suds and rinse ofif with clear 
warm water. If one mink is "crummy" they 
probably all are, so don't clean one up and turn 
back in with the rest, but serve them all alike. 
Clean out the pens and nest boxes and disinfect 
thoroughly with a good strong solution of 
chloride of lime. 

Thirteen. Dysentery. 

Symptoms: A running off at the bowels, if 
not checked the animal will get poor and may die. 
Excrement consists of a watery mucus full of 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 4 3 

small white scaly looking particles, and is some- 
times streaked with blood. 

Treatment: Change the diet. If feeding milk 
unboiled, boil it and let it cool to about 100 
degrees before feeding. Feed white bread in the 
milk. Change the meat diet to fish if you can. 
If the trouble continues give a teaspoonful of 
castor oil three times a day, and if that don't stop 
it give a teaspoonful of blackberry cordial once 
a day till it is checked. 

Fourteen. Excessive Fat. This may prove 
fatal, and is at least detrimental at breeding time. 

Treatment : Cut down on the meat and feed 
more of other foods. Give the animal plenty of 
room for exercise and see to it that he takes it. 

Fifteen. Grubs or Warbles. 

Symptoms : A bunch will appear in the skin. 
It may form a boil or abscess. In this will be 
found a Grub or Warble. 

Treatment: There will be a small opening 
in the top of the bunch or lump. Hold the lump 
between the thumb and forefinger and with a 
sharp knife cut across the top so as to enlarge 
the opening sufficiently to let the grub out. 
Squeeze the grub out, also all the puss, if there 
be any, and syringe out with a solution of car- 
bolic acid. Wash daily with carbolic solution 
till the sore is healed up. 



4 4 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 



CHAPTER V 
QUESTIONS 

(A Continuation of Chapter Four) 

Q. How long is the alimentary canal of a full 
grown mink? 

A. From fifty-four to sixty inches. 

Q. What remedies, medicines and a])pliances 
should be ke])t on hand? 

A. Iodine carljolic acid, turpentine, castor oil, 
olive oil, lard, ground mustard, casteel or Synol 
soap, Glover's Mange Remedy, chloride of lime 
and a couple of syringes, one small one for giving 
medicine, and one larger one for washing out 
sores, cuts, etc., a flash light ; also a canvas bag 
to handle the mink in, (I use a cement sack). A 
couple of sponges and a stick that I will refer 
to hereafter as a "medicine gag." This appliance 
is made as follows : Take a stick of soft wood 
about three-quarters of an inch in diameter and 
approximately six inches long, and round, 
Bore a hole two inches from the end with a 
five-sixteenths-inch bit. Trim out the hole so it 
will readily take a quarter-inch rubber tube and 
the job is done. And now a shoe-string to use 
with this "medicine gag" as hereafter described. 

Q. How do you give a mink medicine and 
prevent the animal biting you while doing it? 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 4 5 

A. With the niink in the nest box, put a 
canvas sack over the entrance and drive the ani- 
mal into it. Now with the mouth of the sack 
in one hand, put the other hand into the sack, 
keeping the hand tightly shut and the back of it 
towards the mink. Shove the hand to the bottom 
of the sack, so you can touch the animal and keep 
the top of sack closed tightly around the arm 
that is in it. Don't let the mink see a hole 
through which to escape or he will try it. 
Now rub the back of the hand against the 
mink alongside of the head. W^ith the 
knuckle of the forefinger, rub from the point 
of the jaw to the base of it, several times. Don't 
()])en your hand and stick a finger out at him or 
he will grab it, (try this on a cat and see how 
she will respond b}' holding her mouth up to 
have it rubbed; a mink will do the same). Now 
with the right forefinger at the base of the jaw, 
it is easy to slip the thuml) over the back of the 
neck and shut down quickly. He may scratch, 
but he can't 1)ite. Don't wear a glove, for you 
can't feel anything with a glove on and you can't 
tell when you have your hand on the animal's- 
head. Now with the mink by the neck you can 
place the medicine gag in the mouth. Place it 
so that a tube run through the hole, will go down 
the animal's throat. W^th the shoestring wind 
the jaws just back of the stick tight enough to 
prevent the mink from getting the stick out, and 
tie it on top. Be sure to place the stick just back 
of the tusks; not too far back. Use judgment 



46 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

about winding the jaws, don't get the string so 
loose that he can get it off, nor yet so tight that 
it will hurt or injure the animal. Now with a 
quarter-inch rubber tube about one and a half 
inches long, on the end of the medicine syringe, 
fill the syringe with the prescribed dose making 
allowance for what will remain in the syringe 
and tube, and placing the tube through the hole 
in the stick run it pretty well down the animal's 
throat, and gentl}^, not violently, work the piston. 
During this o]jeration you should be holding the 
animal by the neck, being careful not to choke 
him, and hold the head up so the medicine will 
run down. Ha\'e the string tied in a bow-knot 
on top of the nose so you can cpiickly loosen it 
if the mink should choke or strangle. Use only 
about three wraps around the jaws and tie the 
last one. Don't tie a knot in the string and then 
slip it over the nose, nor put a knot in the first 
two wraps at all. Tie only the last one. 

O. What precautions against parasites and 
disease do you recommend? 

A. Cleanliness and jnu'e food, plenty of pure 
running water, dry nests well ventilated, and 
rqom to exercise. Have no cover over the pens 
to keep out the rain and snow. The animals need 
the weather. 

O. What precautions against accidents do 
you advise? 

A. Good fences, at least six feet high. (See 
chapter on fencing.) Cut down all big timber 
that could possibly blow down on the pens. If 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 47 

you leave a tree in a pen for shade, i)ut a "collar" 
on it about a foot below the level of the top of 
the pen, or the mink will climb the tree and jump 
out. (See cut on p. 78.) If you use a short ladder 
to get in and out of the pens, (as I do) be careful 
to not leave it in wheri you go away. A mink will 
climb a ladder too. P.e thoughtful and watchful 
at all times. Keep dogs away. Keep visitors 
away except when you are with them. 

DON'T, under any circumstances, allow any- 
one to feed tl'.e animals. 

DON'T ever feed the meat of a horse (ir other 
animal that was not properly slaughtered for the 
])urpose. For instance, a horse that died from 
disease or was injured and allowed to get full of 
fever before it died. 

DOX'T "murder" an animal, and si)oil the 
meat. Slaughter it as it should be slaughtered. 
(See chapter on slaughtering.) 

DON'T use a diseased animal for feed. (See 
chapter on slaughtering.) 

O. What, as to material, dimensions and 
arrangements, do you recommend for mink pens; 
and for marten ? 

A. See chapter on fencing. 

O. Are under-o-round passages desirable? 

A. No. 

Q. What are the essential features of a nest 
box, or how should one be made? 

A. The essential features are warmth, dry- 
ness, good ventilation and adequate room. (For 
plans see sketch in chapter on fencing.) 



48 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

O. How much water do mink require? 

A. That depends. In order to sustain life 
they actually require only enough to drink. 
That's all that a man requires but it don't hurt 
him to take a bath once in a while, and he is 
not classified as a "water animal" either. A 
mink is a water animal and for his happiness and 
contentment, and consequently his well being" 
and the profit he is supposed to produce. 
WATER TO SWIM IN IS NECESSARY. 
His very nature cries out for it. 

Q. How much water do Alarten require? 

A. The Marten is not an amfibuous animal. 
and only requires enough water to drink ; but it 
wants to be clean and fresh. 

Q. What difl^erent kinds of food have you 
tested ? 

A. Clams or mussels, crawfish, trout, white 
fish, birds, mice, squirrels, rabbits, pork and mut- 
ton liver, bread and milk, beef cheeks and scraps 
of fish and meat from the markets, corn bread 
made with cracklings, and horse meat. 

Q. How do each of these foods agree with 
Mink? 

A. Clams are all right for a temporary food 
while out in the jungles where other foods can 
not be obtained. For instance, on a trapping 
expedition. So are craw^fish, trout, white 
fish, birds, mice, squirrels, rabbits, etc.. (or any 
kind of fish for that matter.) But these articles 
can not be procured in sufficient quantities to 
feed a large bunch of animals for any length of 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 4'> 

time. They would l)e too expensive. Pork and 
mutton livers are not so very expensive for a 
boughten food, but the animals do not like liver 
for a steady diet. 

Bread and milk is a good food, and not very 
expensive if you have your own cattle and suf- 
ficient range at little or no cost. Get some 
bakeries to save and ship you their stale bread at 
a low figure. This can usually be done. 

Beef cheeks are too tough, they make better 
"weinies." 

h^ish scraps of any kind are all right if they 
can be procured in sufficient quantities. There 
is no beef scra])S in the big' markets any more. 
A Mink won't eat fat meat. Corn bread, short- 
ened with "cracklings" is all right but they will 
eat but a limited amount of it. 

Horse meat, properly dressed and preserved, 
is the only practical feed I have so far found. 

h'ish would be all right if it could be secured 
at a very low cost; say, not more than a cent a 
pound. There are places where that can be 
done. 

In horse meat we find a food that agrees with 
the animals perfectly. It is cheap enough so we 
can raise a Mink or Marten on it and wall not 
have paid out for feed more than the animal is 
worth at maturity. For further discussion on 
this, see cha]:)ter on general comments. 

Q. How much food is required daily by a 
Mink? 



50 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

A. Four or five ounces of horse meat and 
about a quarter ])int of milk. 

O. Ho^^' much for a Marten? 

A. About six ounces of meat and half a pint 
of milk. 

O. How often should they be fed? 

A. Once a day; or by splitting the meal, feed 
milk at noon and meat at night. 

0. AMiat do you consider the best sta]:)le 
food for Mink? 

A. Horse meat antl bread and milk as before 
stated. Or fish if ])rocurable. 

Q. For Marten? 

A. Same as for ^Nlink, only it can. be increased 
bv adding table scraps, cooked vegetables and 
grains if properly prepared. A ^Marten will eat 
most anything that a cat will. 

O. Should it be varied during the breetling 
season ? 

A. Xo, but a female should be fed all she will 
eat, after she is bred and while she is nursing 
her young. 

Q. When is the season of heat? 

A. February and March. 

Q. Are females in heat more than once in a 
season ? 

A. No. 

O. How long does a single period of heat 
last? 

A. Usually about a month or till the animal 
is bred. 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 51 

Q. How long- should the sexes be allowed to 
run together? 

A. Until the female is bred. You will have 
to watch for this. 

O. Is it best to have a male for each female? 

A. Yes, if you have plenty of males anyway; 
but it isn't necessary, one male will do for three 
or four females. The Mink is a polygamist in 
the wild statc- 

Q. About what ])ercent of females will l)ree(l 
in any given year? 

A. According to my observations about 80%, 
but I believe that is too low. I believe, under 
better conditions, that fully 95% will breed. 

Q. \\niat is the length of the period of gesta- 
tion ? 

A. I can't answer this positively, but to the 
best of my judgment, based on careful observa- 
tion it is about 84 days. (See chapter on breed- 
ing.) 

Q. In what condition are the }-oung born? 

A. Nearly naked, only a little white fuz on 
them ; blind of course and very delicate. They 
have a "patch" or spot of very tough skin on the 
back of the neck by which the mother takes 
them with her teeth to carry them around. This, 
nature has provided to protect the tender skin 
of the kitten from the long sharp teeth of its 
mother. 

O. Does the color of the first coat of hair 
dilTer from that of the second one? 

A. Yes. The first coat is white ; only a light 




Some Marten 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 5 ; 

fuz. The second e^at is a thick coat of fur, 
usually dark brown, and without guard hairs. 
It may get lighter in color as fall approaches 
and the winter coat appears. The guard hairs 
do not appear till the Mink puts on its winter 
coat. 

Q. At about what age do they come out of 
the nest? 

A. At the age of about six weeks. 

0. \\'hen do they open their eyes? 

A. At this age, when they leave the nest. 
More correct!}' speaking, they leave the nest 
when they o;)en their eyes, or just a day or two 
after. 

Q. When should they be weaned? 

A. Not till the mother weans them, usually 
at the age of ibout nine or ten weeks. 

O. What food is best for young Mink? 

A. Bread and milk, and the tenderest of meat' 
or fish. 

Q. How many young do they have at a litter? 

A. From two to eight. 

Q. How many will they average? 

A. Five. 

O. What do you use to disinfect the wound 
when bitten by an animal? 

A. Tincture of iodine. Use it right away and 
work into wound well. This will prevent blood 
poison. 

Q. WHiat do you do in case of blood poison ? 



54 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

A. Soak the indicted parts in water just as 
hot as you can stand it, (and then some). Paint 
above the affected parts with iodine and keep 
boiling up in the hot water. If this does not 
relieve and cure, get to a physician. 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 55 



CHAPTER VI 

THE MARTEN 

The Marten. bek)n54S tu the Alustelidae family, 
and tliere are about nine or ten different kinds 
or breeds of them ; among which are the Mus- 
tela Zibellina, or Russian Sable; Alustela Alela- 
nopus, or Japanese Marten ; the Mustela Pen- 
nanti, or Pennant's Marten, otherwise known as 
the "h^isher," and two or three breeds of the 
Mustela Americanus or American Marten or 
Sable. Of the latter we are familiar with two 
distinct strains known as the "Stone"' Marten 
and the "Pine" Marten. The only difiference in 
these is that the former is of a beautiful grayish 
yellow color while the latter is dark like the Rus- 
sian Sable. The Marten is naturally a cold cli- 
mate animal, as shown by the feet. Its feet are 
covered with fur between the toes and on the ball 
of the foot. I know of no other animal that has 
this characteristic. It has a semi-retractable 
claw, so it can roll the claw back far enough to 
not interfere or wear ofif when traveling on a 
rocky hill range, and yet it can roll the claws out 
so it can set them into the bark of a tree, enabling 
ito climb like a squirrel. But it can't hide the 
claw entirely like a cat does. It can dig like a 
dog and thereby catch mice and moles. A red 
squirrel stands no chance with a Marten in a 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 57 

tree top for he is much inure active than a scjuir- 
rel. A Marten runs straight up a tree apparently 
as easily as a cat runs on the ground or up a 
slanting' pole ; and then like the squirrel he 
reverses his hind feet and cmnes down head first 
as handily as he went up. A cat can't do this 
simple but all-important "stunt." Kitty can run 
up the tree or a telephone pole, but it generalh' 
takes the city fire department to get her down. 
The Alarten has a good nose and can trail like 
a hound, lie makes a jack rabbit ashamed of 
himself on a straight run (or a crooked one for 
that matter). They often i un a rabbit down in 
the woods. They are much heavier furred than 
the Alink. The Stone Marten, as said before, is 
of a beautiful rich grayish yellow, making a fur 
that many prefer to that of the Sable or Pine 
Marten. There are different shades, however ; 
some not so beautiful. The Pine Marten or Sable 
is of a rich dark brown or black. They have a 
spot of golden yellow or bright orange at the 
throat, generally triangular in shape. This is 
the "beauty spot" of the Marten. The Marten 
has a trim, alert, lofty bearing and appearance 
that makes him es])ecially attractive among 
other animals. The fur is very thick and fine 
and from an inch to an inch and a half long. 
The guard hairs are so fine and silky that they- 
are sometimes called the outer fur. 

A large skin will stretch up to about thirty- 
six to forty-two inches. The skin itself is of 
lighter weight than the Mink's but is tougher 



58 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

and very pliable. It makes a most durable and 
valuable fur and is often faked, but I can't say 
imitated, by what is known by the "trade name" 
of "natural black marten." SKUNK. A real 
dark fur in good condition and of good size is 
worth about $35.00. A live animal with such a 
fur is worth from $75.00 to $100.00. The feeding 
habits of this animal are quite dilTerent from 
those of the Alink. The Marten is carnivorous 
as shown by the teeth, Init he is not so scrupu- 
lously so as the Alink. It doesn't hurt his 
stomach nor his conscience to rob a trapper of 
his lunch, should he be so indiscrete as to leave 
it hanging in a tree while he makes a round on 
his trap line. 

In captivity he is easily cared for; if we get 
out of meat or liver temporarily, we boil up some 
spuds, mix in a few crusts of bread and give a 
little extra allowance of milk, and they seem to 
enjoy the change. Meat makes the best fur, how- 
ever, and should form the basis of their diet. 
They are very fond of mice and will climb all 
over their keeper to get one away from him. 
Easily tamed, they make very desirable pets. 
One Marten is worth a dozen cats when it comes 
to keeping the place clear of rats and mice. They 
will easily kill a wood rat that a cat has no busi- 
ness with. Intelligent and clean, they are the 
ideal pet, and to my eye the most beautiful ani- 
mal that runs on four feet. They must be tamed 
before they will breed in captivity, but since that 
is so easily done I believe they will prove even 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 5!) 

more profitable for the fur farmer than the Mink. 
The natural range of the Alink is all over the 
United States and most of Canada, but not so 
with the Marten. Many peo])le who are familiar 
with Mink have nex'er seen a Marten, for they 
are a native of cold climates and high altitudes. 
Yet they endure hot weather well, for they shed 
their fur in the spring and don't put on their 
winter coat till they need it. They are an excep- 
tionally hardy animal. I have never had a sick 
one and therefore do not know anything" about 
their ailments. A louse or a woodtick can't live 
on a Marten. They comb each others fur with 
their claws and pick them off. Bold and auda- 
cious, they readily make up with strangers, and 
often for their benefit it seems, as though trying 
to "show off," they will do some of their "cute 
little tricks," such as pulling off a boxing contest, 
or playing tag around the pen. They are as 
handy among the branches as a monkey, and 
just as amusing. 




still Other Positions 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MAE TEN 61 



CHAPTER VII 
BREEDING AND RAISING THE YOUNG 

It is natural for all animals to breed, of course; 
otherwise thev would not exist. When any one 
specie refuses to breed there is something wrong- 
somewhere. Now what was the matter when 
my Mink refused to breed? That was the thing 
for me to find out. Nature has her laws govern- 
ing these things and they must not be disre- 
garded nor to any great extent, tampered with. 
Where was I running counter to this law? Lets 
see, I had my Alink in a pen, they had food and 
water, but not much room to exercise. My pens 
were small and built more as if for exhibition 
purposes than for ])rivacy. 

The animals w^ere wild, shy, and afraid, and 
visitors ])y the dozens swarmed around the pens. 
I only had a little water in the pens, a trough 
only four inches deep, by a foot wide. In this 
a Mink would vainly try to dive, Imt would have 
to turn oxer to get his back wet. The place was 
all right for \'isitors, but not at all congenial to 
the animals. That's what was the matter. But 
it took me a year to find it out. That is, it took 
one breeding season, and since they breed but 
once a year, I figure that it cost a year. I had 
to change conditions for them and wait till 
another breeding season to try it again. The 




Baby Mink (Four Weeks Old) 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 63 

next fall 1 had my pens arranged so I could turn 
them all in together at the proper time. I was 
watching evidence that the females were ready to 
breed. I didn't know what the signs were nor 
what to look for. While watching for the sign in 
the females. ] discovered it in the bucks. The 
testicles that had not been visild}' nt)ticeable 
were now swelled up so as to be (juite con- 
spicuous. S(^ this, I took to be a sign of the 
"rutting" season for the Mink, as the "thick 
neck" of the buck deer indicates that for the 
deer family. The pen for the females was sepa- 
rated from the buck's pen by a partition, the 
lower half of which was screen. I noticed that 
the females were becoming restless and pacing 
up and down this side of their pen more than 
usual. The bucks also spent most of their time 
digging along that side of the ])en and noseing 
and smelling the females through the screen. 
These were the signs, I thought, so turned them 
in together. There were eleven females and nine 
bucks. Only five of the females were ready and 
would breed at this time. These, after three 
days, I removed to a pen far away from the breed- 
ing pen. Soon others came in heat and were 
bred, and I removed them. And wdien they were 
all bred, which was inside of two weeks, I ]nit 
the females back in their own big pen and the 
bucks away by themselves; not in the pen adjoin- 
ing the females. 

I couldn't tell to a day when a Mink was bred, 
for I put them all in together as I removed them 




A Half Grown Kitten 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 65 

from the breeding pen. 1 did not keep a written 
memoranda of the time as I should, but a? /lear 
as I could figure back it was the tenth of Feb- 
ruary when the first ones were bred and it Avas 
the sixth of May when the first litter a])peared. 

Thus 1 estimated it was about eighty-four 
da}s, the ])eri<)d of gestatii)n. 1 am dis])uted on 
this point. h()we\'er, ])}• men that sa}' the_\' have 
raised Mink and as 1 am not positive as to all 
dates, I am merely stating 84 days as my opinion. 
This was the mcst successful of the six breeding- 
seasons that 1 have obser\-ed, as regards getting 
them all bred. 1 ])elie\e there were ten out of 
the eleven that produced young that spring. 

Now I tried the "pairing off" system, and was 
going tt^ get the "dope" on this ciuestion. For 
fear that they would not breed 1 only used two 
pairs in this ex])eriment. The rest I bred on the 
"bunching uj)" plan. 

The ones that I paired otT did not breed, and 
the ones that I kept no time on. did. Thus 1)_\- 
trying these little experiments, from year to year, 
I find that about 80'/, of all females will breed. 
Hut 1 don't ccMisider this a fair test, for an answer 
to that cjuestion, "What percent of females w^ill 
breed in a given year?" We should take the 
most successful method of breeding and draw 
our answer from that. I belieAe that will demon- 
strate that about 95'/, will breed. One great 
difficulty in observing the habits of wild Mink in 
captivity is their shyness. If they know you are 
watching that sr)oils all chance for observation. 



66 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

I can't tell whether a female has been bred or not 
unless I see it. The buck will take them by the 
back of the neck, and you can see where they 
have been chewed, but that is not proof positive 
that they ha\e l^een bred. If there are several 
bucks in a pen and only one female that is in heat, 
they will fight over her and chew her neck all 
raw. This should not be allowed. Put this 
female in a pen with a buck that you know is all 
right. Not all bucks can be depended on. If a 
buck is past a certain ai^e (I think about eight 
vears), or is too fat he will be \'ery apt to be of 
no accoimt as a l)reeder. If a female shows a 
disinclination, to breed, sr.metimes a vicious buck 
will set his long tusks through the back of her 
skull and kill her. The tusk penetrates the brain, 
i take a pair of small nippers and cut the tusks 
ofif, just a little hunger than the rest of the teeth. 
They need some tusks to tear their food with. 
So I would n it cut them any shorter than is 
necessary to ])re\-ent their killing their mate. 
Some females do show a disinclination to breed, 
notwithstanding" the pro\-erb to the contrar}-. 

A female in heat will sometimes announce the 
fact by standing' up on her hind feet and emitting 
a certain peculiar cr}-. A long, drawnout cry 
unlike the scuieal that the\- make in fighting over 
their food. 

riiis cry I ha\e heard in the woods, or 
ahjug the ri\er bank, while nuiking ol)ser\-a- 
tions of Mink in the wild state. Jt can be heard 
a half mile on a still night and several times I 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 67 

have observed it attracted the male Mink. A 
Mink is a polygamist naturally. He will run for 
miles up and dov^^n the river and cover every 
female that he comes to. 

But unless one is somewhat familiar with 
Mink and the noises that they make he would 
not recognize nor distinguish this noise from 
the others. This cry is a call for her mate 
and is never made when there is a com- 
motion around the pens, as at feeding time. 
It will be heard in the stillness of the 
night. Then if you slip out cpiietly and look 
into the pen a'ou will see the animal standing 
on her hind feet, looking all around and every 
few minutes calling to her mate. Now if you 
have a door to the nest box that can be closed 
with a wire from your "lookout" you can shut 
this one out, (and the chances are good that she 
will be the only one that is out.) Xo\v i)ut 
another box into the pen and she will run into it. 
I'ut the sack o\'er the entrance and drive her into 
it, and you can then move her to the breeding 
pen without any undue excitement or trouble. 

C'r, in place of the sack, you can have a door 
on the little box that you use to catch her in and 
take box and all to the breeding" pen. 

At breeding time don't allow any visitors 
around, kee^i cats and dogs away, and also all 
strange noiser; and scents. 

In the Northern United States the breeding 
season begins about the first of February and 
continues for nearly two months. Where I have 




A Full Grown Mink — Twelve Months Old 
Also Inside Corner of Pen, and Bath Tub 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 69 

no particular l)uck that I \\ant to breed from, 
I prefer the "Ininched up" method of handling, 
but when I ha\e a certain fine specimen to breed 
from, I ha\'e to use the "pairing off" method. 
One can not be too careful at this time. 

Now, after the females are bred they should 
be put in a big pen by themselves ; feed them all 
that the}" will clean u]), as long as they don't get 
too fat. If that begins to show, cut down on 
the feed for a while. Play with them, feed them 
out of your hand and get them just as tame as 
you can. so that when they have their kittens 
they will not be so afraid of you. They are easier 
to take care of in one big pen as long as it is safe 
to leave them there, but by the middle of April 
it is best to ]:)ut them in their individual pens, 
and care for them separately. Keep handling 
them. Keep their nest boxes clean. Never make 
a cpiick move that will scare them, and about the 
time that you expect the kittens to arrive, be sure 
to have the nests free from vermin and filth. 
After the kittens arrive you must not touch the 
nest for a month or more. Use fine grass or hay 
for nests. Make a nest for a mother Mink like 
this: Line the bottom of the nest compartment 
with about two inches of the fine grass, and then 
put your hand in where the Mink will lie and 
cover it o\-er with more grass, keeping the hand 
in the nest open, moulding a little room or cave. 
Now draw the hand out. leaving the opening 
where it should be. on the side, not on top of the 
nest, pack the hay down on toj:). while your hand 



70 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

is inside so as to make the wall compact and 
warm. Don't make the opening- too large, no 
larger than yonr hand or wrist. If this little 
tunnel leading into the nest is quite long, it is 
better. So the kittens are away back in their 
warm room, safe from the cold or draft. As a 
general thing, you will have better luck if you 
provide for them like that and then let the 
mother take care of them, but if for an}- reason 
you want to look at the kittens proceed like this: 
At feeding time the mother will come out to 
carry the food into the nest box. When she is 
out, close the door to her nest and shut her out 
Now put the "catching box" into the pen and run 
her into it and close the door. Remove her to 
some other pen so she can't hear what is going 
on around her kittens, keeping her shut up in 
the dark box that you caught her in. Now with 
a flash light you can look into the nest and, if 
necessary, clean it out, or remove a dead kitten. 
Don't disturl:) the nest any more than is neces- 
sary. And DON'T REACH AROUND a kitten 
to pick it up. Take the thumb and finger and 
pick the kitten up by the nai)e of the neck. 
Nature put a "patch" on the back of a Mink 
kitten's neck for this purpose Do it quickly and 
have it over with ; the mother is working herself 
into a frenzy. Put her back in the pen. When 
she runs into the box, shut the door and keep 
her in or she is liable to carry all the kittens out 
and bury them or pile them up in some hole or 
corner of the pen. Keep away and don't make 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 71 

any more noise, and alter an honr or so go l^ack 
and open the door and j^et out without makinj^" 
any noise. If the mother Mink has been suf- 
ficiently tame(l so that you can pick her up and 
handle her without her bitin^y or struggling to 
get away, she will stand for your handling" her 
kittens, but unless she is. you had better let the 
kittens alone. 

Feed her and the kittens tender lean meat. 
She will feed the little ones meat long before they 
ha\e their eyes open. .\s soon as the kittens 
ojjen their eyes and come out of the nest have a 
basin of milk fresh from the cow with a little 
bread in it. so they can get to it handily. If the 
kittens begin to show signs of dissentery, boil 
the milk and cool down to al)out 100 degrees 
before feeding it. Stale or dry bread is best. 

Keep the nest box up off the damp ground, 
but let the entrance come down on the ground 
so the kittens can get in. J lay a board or piece 
of galvanized iron on the ground and then put 
a couple of inch strips on this to set the nest box 
on. Don't have these strips more than an inch 
thick or the kittens may crawl under there and 
die. Now the first thing a kitten will do when he 
crawls out of the nest, is to make for the water. 
If he doesn't the mother will take him there. 
So DON'T have the surface of the water more 
than one-halt-inch below the top of the tub or 
basin. If you do the kitten will die in the water. 
He will not drown, for he will naturally float, but 
he will chill and die. I put a board in the tub 




A Bunch of Mink 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 73 

SO it will n>)at and at the same time have it 
fastened to the side t)f the tuh so they can crawl 
out. Now ^"ive the kittens and the mother a 
roomy, sunny pen, kee|) the nest clean and dry, 
and kee]) visitors away so the kittens will come 
out and play, l-'eed them all that they will clean 
up before the next meal time, and you will raise 
some Mink. 



74 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 



CHAPTER VIII 

FENCING 

Fencing, the kind, style and quality, depends 
ui)c)n what 3'Oti are fencing" against, and how long 
you want it to last. If you are fencing against 
newly captured wild Mink, you need a fence that 
is practically mouse tight. It should be six feet 
high, and of solid material, such as sheet iron or 
tin. A Mink will cut his nose and claws all up 
trying to get through a hole that is too small for 
his escape. He will l)reak his tusks off and kee ) 
on fighting till he dies. A screen barrier is 
almost sure death to him. If he can't see 
through he will spend his time pacing up and 
down the pen, but not hurting himself. If the 
fence is too low, so he thinks he could possibly 
jump out he will keep trying it. He will stand 
back and juni]) as high as he can against the 
side of the pen, and fall to the bottom of course. 
Then get up and try it again and again till he 
dies from exhaustion. A wild Mink that is good 
and active can clear a fence that is four feet 
high. Two feet more is none too much for 
safety. And in case of a heavy snow fall in a 
single night, this two feet is certainly none too 
much to prevent a wholesale get-away. With a 
six-foot wall you need no "over-hang." That is 
a nuisance anyway. It is a source of danger, 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 75 

being liable to break down and open a way for 
the animals to esca])e. It is always getting" ont 
of repair, and in the winter is always loaded 
down with snow and ice, rendering the danger 
of collapse greater. Of course you can shovel 
it off, but that costs time and money, and is not 
safe at that, for sometime there will something 
happen that it don't get shoveled off and it 
breaks down and its good bye Mink. Then it 
has cost you more than it would have cost to 
build the fence as it should have been in the first 
place. A Mink will dig, so you must fence in 
the ground with heavy galvanized wire screen. 
Screen is much better for this than solid material. 
A Mink will dig down till he comes to a slab of 
rock, concrete or sheet iron and then follow it 
till he comes to the edge and go in under and 
up out. If it is wire screen he will not follow it 
to the edge, but dig away at the dirt that he can 
see through the screen and finally get discour- 
aged and quit. He doesn't understand the screen. 
This screen should be of three-quarter or one- 
inch mesh and a diamond mesh at that. It 
should be well galvanized. This "flashing" as I 
call it, in the ground, should be put in on a slant 
of a foot to the foot. See dra^ving. If you put it 
straight down the Mink \vill dig straight down 
beside it till he comes to the bottom and then up 
and out. Now if you are fencing for ranch raised, 
or wild Mink, well domesticated, a strip of screen 
three feet wide and then three feet of galvanized 
iron to make the six-foot fence, is preferable. 







A Row of Pens Last Two Covered, for Marten 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 77 

The Mink can climb the screen but they quit 
when they come to the iron. It is much better to 
put this iron straight uj) than to break it in over 
the top for an over-hang-. I'.y putting the screen 
on for the lower three feet, 3'ou give the animals 
the benefit of the wind. They need that for ven- 
tilation. It also gi\'es them the sun. Sunshine is 
an excellent germicide, and one of the essential 
things to the health and in fact the very existence 
of animal and \-egeta1)le life. Don't think that 
the sun will fade out the dark color of the fur. 
The chances are, that you won't have any fur if 
you deprive them of sunshine. Tn a pen that has 
solid walls all the way around, there is dead air 
in the bottom. There is dampness and mold. 
The sun and wind will do more towards keeping 
the pens pure and clean than a half a dozen 
hired men. The sun and wind keeps the pens 
almost as dry as the ground outside. A Mink 
will stand a damp, poorly ventilated pen better 
than a Marten, but it is detrimental to the health 
and well l)eing of the Mink. I would only recom- 
mend a solid wall for wild animals. When they 
will live in a screen ])en without committing 
suicide, that is the ])lace for them. A fence six 
feet high will not turn a Marten. If your pens 
are small, say not larger than ten or twelve 
feet square, they may be covered over with a 
one-inch diamond mesh screen. If the fence 
incloses a large area, then it must be at least 
eight feet high. You can have one-inch diamond 
mesh screen for the first six feet, but the top 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN ?!» 

two feet must be of galvanized iron. The corners 
must also ])e of galvanized iron for a distance of 
at least six feet each way, or the Marten will 
take a run and juni]) as high as he can on the 
screen and then across the corner to the top and 
out. 

Xow as to the material, the kind, size, weight 
and (|uality. Posts should he of cypress, cedar, 
oak, chestnut, locus, red fir, tamarack, or any 
other timber that does not rot readily when set 
in the ground. And since the posts are the foun- 
dation of the fence, they should be made as dur- 
able as ])ossible. The life of any timber will be 
greatly leni^thened b\- being treated with 
Creosote. Tliis can be done quite cheaply by 
taking a piece of Ijlack iron 36 inches wide by 
10 feet long. 16-guage or heavier, and making a 
trough of it. Take a piece of angle bar Ij^xl^^, 
cui two pieces the length of the sheet of iron and 
ri^•et it to the edge on each side. This to stiffen 
the edge of the trough. 

If you can, i)ut a sheet iron end in the trough, 
l)ut if you haven't the tools nor the mechanical 
ability for this, do it this way. The end of the 
trough will -epresent one-half of the area of a 
circle. Then the width of your iron (36 inches) 
will represent one-half of the circumference of 
the circle. Now what will l)e the diameter of a 
circle, the circumference of which is 71 inches, 
or half of the circumference 3()? l)i\ide ~1 inches 
by 3.1416, and we ha\e 11^) or ]M-actically 2Z 
inches. Then 2Z inches will be the inside width 



80 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

of the top of the trough, and it will be just half 
that deep. Set the compasses at 113^2 and place 
one point on the edge of a 2x12, and with the 
other point scribe a half circle. Take a compass 
saw^ and saw this out. Make another just like 
it and set them in for the ends of your trough, 
two inches from the end of the iron. Put a 
half-inch rod through the angle bar stiffeners 
just outside of the ])lank end, and you have a 
good, serviceable trough to creosote posts in. 
Use 6d nails to nail the ends in and nail both 
ways from the middle. Now dig a trench for a 
fire pit and set the trough over it. Set the trough 
level and put a sheet of iron along each side so 
the fire don""- come up and fire your creosote. 
At one end of the trench ha\e a stack, made of 
6-inch stove pipe, about 10 feet high, and build 
your fire under the other end. Put in about 
eight inches of creosote and heat it as hot as it 
will stand and boil up the posts in this for about 
five minutes each. Stand the posts up endwise 
on a sheet of iron so that the drainage will run 
back into the vat or trough. Ice tongs are handy 
to handle the timber with after it is dipped. The 
girts should be of some rot-resisting timber as 
well as the posts and can be treated by dipping- 
one end at a time, and ])erhaps touching up the 
middle with a paint brush. 

If you are using round timber for posts, cut 
them 9;k2 feet long, and al)OUt six inches at the 
top. Have them all the same size as near as 
possible. Now^ say we are going to build ten 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 81 

pens. Set two posts exactly 100 feet apart from 
center to center. Now the face-side of the posts 
is the side towards the inside of the pen, npon 
wdiich yon i)nt yonr shirts and sheeting. Set the 
face-side pknnb, so that wdien yon get the other 
wall n]) the ]:)ens will not be wider on top than 
they are on the bottom. Set the posts plumb on 
center the other way. Xow get a good braided 
linen line, one that yon can stretch a hundred 
feet and not have much sag in it, and measure 
up five feet ten inches from where you want the 
bottom of the sheeting to come, stick a nail on 
the face-side and put the line on it. Stretch the 
line to the other ])(\st at a ])oint exactly level 
with the nail on the first post. Xow set the tops 
of the other posts to this line so that you know- 
that you will have a little to saw ofif. Line them 
up, top and bottom, and tamp them solid. Now 
sight the line straight and take the sag all out 
of it by sticking a nail under it wdierever needed. 
Saw ofif the posts to this line, l^eing careful to get 
them level on top. Your posts have been creo- 
soted, but these ends haven't. Take a brush and 
soak them good. Xow lay the 2x6 top girt on 
and line it up even with the face-side of the posts. 
Now frame the bottom girt into the posts so it 
is just six feet from the top of the top girt to the 
bottom of the bottom one. Frame in the middle 
girt so the center is M) inches from the toj). and 
you are read}- for the sheet iron. Xow build 
another wall just 10 feet from this one, being- 
careful to ha\'c the posts set in perfect s(piarcs, 



82 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 




Section of fence '^m^^^ 

SHOWING SCREEN FLASH INS*" 
IN THE SROUNO 



Scale ]/.. Incli to 1 Foo 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 83 

SO the pens will be square. Be sure to dope the 
daps in the posts where you frame out for the 
girts with creosote before you nail on the girts. 
Where you have broken the grain of the timber 
that is where it will naturally start to rot first. 
Dope it well. Your iron Avill be exactly 10 feet 
long so you must be careful to have the walls 
finish just 10 feet apart from face to face. Now 
dig a trench 18 inches deep, 18 inches from the 
face of the posts or from the bt)ttom girt, and 
slant the dirt bank off so that it lays on an even 
plane on a slope of about a foot to the foot. Take 
a roll of screen that is two feet wide and lay it 
in the trench so that the to]) comes up on the 
girt about two inches. Tack it there. Put on 
the bottom stretch of iron or screen so it laps 
over the flashing and comes to the center of the 
middle girt. Then the top stretch of iron. Put 
in the ends and the partitions at the posts. Use 
a bottom girt for the ends the same as for the 
sides, but for the partitions, bed a creosoted pole 
in between the posts so the top is even with the 
bottom of the bottom girt. Staple the flashing 
to this so it meets on top and also the bottom 
edge of the screen partition. You can use a top 
girt in the partitions, but no middle girt. So 
punch your iron with holes one inch apart and 
lace or sew your screen to it. Use a non- 
corosive wire such as untempered brass or cop- 
per. It is always best to have one or two pens 
sheeted up solid with iron, for wild Mink; the 
others should be screen for the bottom three feet. 



84 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 




Scale l.i Inch to 1 Fuot 

Construction of ATater System 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 85 

Now for a water system. A pool should be not 
less than 12 inches deep. The top should be even 
with the surface of the ground inside the pen; 
and the ground should be level with the bottom 
of the bottom girt. The p(H)l can l)e made of a 
tub or a wooden box. A drain pipe that wont 
freeze up should be put in like this : Cut a ]^iece 
of one-inch galvanized pipe 12 inches long; 
thread it on one end about IVj inches. Screw 
a lock nut on and put it through a hole in the 
bottom of the tub about six inches from the side. 
Screw the lock nut on the outside. If it does 
leak it wont liurt but }'ou can make it water tight 
by putting' on a thin leather washer before put- 
ting- the end of the pipe through the tub. The 
pipe should stick through the lock nut on the 
bottom, three-{]uarters of an inch. On this screw 
an elbow and run a pipe out from under the bot- 
tom of the tub to the sewer. The end of the pipe 
in the tub should be three-quarters of an inch 
below the le\-el of the edge of the tub and the 
tub set level. The drain pii)e will stick through 
the flashing-, but the screen should not be cut, 
or it may make a hole for a Mink to escape. Just 
spread the wire. Lay the sewer so it will take 
the end of each drain pipe, and have about five 
inches of grade to the 100 feet, or one-half inch 
to the pen, or e\'ery 10 feet. 

By using a nipj^le through the bottom of the 
tub and a lock nut on each side you can then put 
the drain pipe up in the bottom of the tub by the 
use of a sleeve coupling. Then you can unscrew 



86 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

the drain pipe and drain the tub within two 
inches of the bottom. By putting the drain pipe 
to one side of the tul) and that next to the sewer, 
it saves piping and gives the Mink better room 
to swim and play in the water. The sides of the 
tub may become coated with ice but at six inches 
away the drain pipe is safe from freezing. Now 
run the water main close to the posts, (have the 
sewer a foot away) and tap into each tub with a 
quarter-inch pipe. Have a cutoff close to the 
main and run the quarter-inch pipe through the 
side of the tub close to the bottom, with a lock 
nut on each side. The main should be not less 
than one inch if you have 100 pounds of pressure 
and if you have less, it should be one and a quar- 
ter or one and a half inch. 

Lay the main so that when you turn the water 
oft' it will drain the full length. Your main and 
each hydrant or tap is about twelve inches under 
ground and you can cover it over with straw or 
horse manure as a further protection from frost. 
In cold weather keep it running as fast as it can 
run out. That is the best protection against 
freezing. 

For sheeting use 28 or 30 gauge galvanized 
iron "36 inches by 120 inches." Use one-inch 
galvanized roof nails to put it on with. For 
Mink use three-quarter-inch diamond mesh 
screen of Xo. 18 wire for sides and flashing. 
For Marten use the same size, except on top of 
a pen or cage There one-inch hiesh is all right. 
I just cover over the Mink pen with this wire 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 87 

and it will hold i\larten. If you use one-inch 
mesh on the side a young- Marten is liable to get 
his head through it and hang himself. You can 
get all kinds and sizes, any width you desire 
from the H. T. 1\ Publishing Co., Columbus, 
Ohio. That is the best wire and the best prices 
that 1 have been able to find. Use one-inch gal- 
vanized poultry netting staples to put the screen 
on with, and use lots of them. 

If you are careful in selecting your wood, and 
thorough in <^!ie creosoting process, a fence built 
like that will stand from 20 to 30 years in any 
climate without repairs occasioned by natural 
decay. That is the cheapest way of building in 
the long run. 

If you leave a tree in a pen for shade, don't 
forget to put a collar on it. (See cut on page 49). 

A good nest box is made by taking a box about 
16x30, 12 inches deep, put a partition in it so as 
to make a nest 16x16. Have the partition eight 
inches high and a hole through the partition big 
enough to get your hand through. Have the hole 
to one side and the bottom of it so it will make 
an entrance for the little mink, about two and 
one-half inches ofif from the fioor. Bore the bot- 
tom full of holes under the nest so it will drain. 
Now you have a nest 16x16 and a feed room 
about 13x16. Put some fine hay in the nest, 
stick your hand through the hole in the partition 
and in the hay hollow out a den or nest with the 
top all covered. This makes a warm nest for the 
young mink and the mother feels a sense of 



88 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

security in it that she does not in an open nest 
This feed room in the nest box keeps them from 
carrying' the meat into the nest. They will keep 
the nest clean if they have an adjoining" room 
when they will not if they don't. Now for an 
entrance, build a box four by five inches on the 
inside, without any ends in it, and about a foot 
long. Attach to the hole in the feed room and 
if you like you can hang a door at the outer end. 
A door sometimes comes handy to shut a mink 
out in case you are trying to separate them. To 
catch a mink put a sack over the end of the 
entrance, raise the co\er a little and the mink- 
will run into the entrance and stop. Now take a 
block just big enough to fill the hole nicely and 
crowd him into the sack. 

fjore several one-inch holes along the sides 
near the top for ventilation. IMake a cover that 
will project over the box four inches on the sides 
and back and twelve inches in front, so as to 
form a shed for a basin of milk. Hinge the cover 
at the back, or side, so it may be lifted up to 
clean out. C(n'er should be water tight. Gal- 
vanized iron or some good brand of ready roofing 
over thin boards makes a good cover. Don't put 
the hole in the ])artiti()n opposite of the entrance 
or the wind will haxe a straight course to the 
nest. 

A nest box of this size is all right for a female 
and young. It can be built larger for a large 
number of mink. For ten mink it should be 
24x40 inches makino- the nest 24x24 Feed room 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN S!) 

about 16x24. Yon should never keep more than, 
ten mink in one pen. They are apt to pile up 
and smother. When the kittens are pretty well 
grown and the weather is warm, you can make 
an open nest instead of a den for them. 

This nest is all right for Marten also. (See 
drawing of nest box). 



90 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 




Construction of Nest Box 
(Side Removed) 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 91 



CHAPTER IX 
TRAPS AND TRAPPING 

Trapping' is such an intensely interesting pas- 
time, besides being quite profitable as well, that 
j)erhaps more than half of the boys learn some- 
thing, at least, about it before they leave the 
happy realm of boyhood. And having once 
known the delig'hts of the trap-line, they never 
forget it. 

Old gray-haired men doze before their evening- 
fire and dream of the happiest hours of their life 
when they got up extra early to take a run back 
to the woods to look at the traps before mother 
called "breakfast." Oh, how a boy's heart jumps 
when he approaches his trap and hears the chain 
rattle. Now he looks in under the old log or 
upturned root and there is Mr. Mink or Mr. 
Coon with his foot fast in his trap. But some- 
times the pleasure of anticipation is greater than 
that of realization. Zip — whew — it's a skunk. 
Instead of proudly carrying home a fine piece of 
fur, only hitting the highest places in the trail 
as he goes, he slinks along home with a disgusted 
look on his face, his heart boiling over with 
wrath and an evil-smelling odor all about him. 
"Confound that nasty thing anyway," he says to 
himself, "mother won't let me trap any more, I 
know she won't." But before the forget-me-not 



•.Nti K { 



i.y^' 'X^-'"!.^ 




THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 'J 3 

odor of his last \ictim dies away he is secretly 
watching his other traps, and some day he comes 
"sheepishly" into the house and hands mother a 
beautiful mink skin to helj) make up her set of 
furs, and — well — she doesn't scold him much and 
he keeps on tra]:)ping'. Nor does he ever (|uit. 
If it isn't the traps it's the gun or the fish-rod. 
"Men are only boys grown tall," and the call of 
the wild haunts us forever. So what's the use? 
But the trapping is getting poor so we must 
catch the remaining few alive and raise them in 
captivity. Thus, with (^ur mature years our 
pastime evolves into a l)usiness, and we combine 
business with pleasure. Xow if we are going 
into business we naturally want the best equip- 
ment that we can get in the way of traps, fencing, 
etc. So we look for a trap that will get them 
ali\'e and uninjured. This of course has to be a 
box. But box traps are so big and clumsy that 
when it comes to handling many of them we find 
we have a big job on hand. We don't want 
many, for that matter; not as many as we would 
of steel traps, for we have to look at them morn- 
ing and evening, to be sure of getting them alive. 
But a man that can hike like a trapper can cover 
50 traps, alon_g an ordinary river, twice a day. 
Fifty box traps, or even half that many, make a 
cumbersome load. So we want the smallest and 
lightest trap that will do the business. Efficiency 
and reliability come first and must not be sacra- 
ficed for lightness and durability. We have tried 
out all the box traps that were ever invented and 



94 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

then tried to make one that combined the good 
features of all of them and eliminated the bad 
ones. How .veil we ha\e succeeded is told l)y 
the "Gates' Patent" box trap. This trap weighs 
six pounds, is five by six inches scjuare and 
twenty-six inches long". It is smooth all over the 
outside, no trigger nor projections of any kind 
to prevent bundling up nicely. A man can easily 
carry six or eight of them when putting out or 
taking up a trap line. Eight of them weigh less 
than fiftv pounds and arc as big a bulk as one 
man can handily carry. Most of my readers will 
remember of seeing a cut of myself and traps in 
Harding's "Fur- Farming." (There's a book 
w^orth reading. If you haven't got it, get it. It's 
60 cents well invested). The doors of this trap 
are hung on spring hinges and swing in. A bar 
between the top of them keeps the trap open till 
the animal touches the bait. A little pull and 
the doors close behind the animal and there is 
no escape. The animal can not be eaten out of 
the tra]) by another animal. There is a slide 
end gate in the back end that allows one to bait 
the tra]) and also to punch an animal out into a 
sack. The trigger arrangement is the simplest 
ever. Absolutely impossible for it to go wrong 
and not work, (^r get out of order by any kind of 
ordinary use. 

Properly baited and scented, this trap will get 
any mink or marten that will go into a wooden 
box. That talk about "The sly old Mink" is a 
joke. A mink has to be caught several times 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 95 

to teach liim to keep out of a box trap. It's a, 
mink's nature to go into a hole, and no amount 
of tin cans and sheet iron to rattle, will keep him 
from going where he can smell something good, 
(to eat or otherwise). A mink has comparatively 
a big leg and small foot, and can therefore pull 
out of a steel trap that isn't strong enough to 
break the leg A No. Victor wont hold a mink 
and a No. 1, or a No 1 Newhouse, will break the 
leg. So it is impel ative to have a box trap for 
them. lUit for marten a No. Victor is all right. 
The sole of the marten's foot is covered with fur 
and the foot is so big that he finds it impossible 
to ])ull out of this little Victor. A No. 1 Victor 
or Newhouse will break a marten's leg. The 
nature of the country that the marten inhabits is 
another argument in favor of the little steel trap. 
It would be almost impt)ssible t(^ j.ack box traps 
into a marten country. But as for the marten 
going into a l>ox trap, why, he will go into any 
hole that he can get his head into, if there is 
anything to eat in there. He is about the boldest 
animal that runs the woods. The box trap is 
desirable for marten only when you are jiutting 
out a dozen or so and you can pack them in on a 
horse. If you get a marten in a box trap, you 
have got him. He wont be eaten up by a bob- 
cat or cougar. And it's a cinch he wont get away. 
Rut as for marten trapping, there isn't much use 
in my going into detail, because there is but very 
little of that done by amateur trappers. It takes 
an experienced trapper to conduct a trapping 



96 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

campaign in such a country as is inhabited by 
marten. They seek the most remote mountain 
tops and the little basins that lie between them. 
Places where a tenderfoot has no business with- 
out a guide. A trapper that can take his dogs 
and guns and traps and with what grub he can 
pack on his back, go into the woods and live 
through a winter in the high altitudes, without 
seeing another human being, has probably a store 
of knowledge gained by experience, that would 
not be greatly enhanced by what I could tell him 
in this book. However, if you ever do set a steel 
trap for marten, se^ it where it won't get covered 
with snow. The best set is made by cutting a 
notch in a tree about four feet from the ground 
or snow. Pick a tree that is dead if you can, if 
not, get a green hemlock or cedar. Don't notch 
a tree that has a pitch sap, or your fur will be 
ruined with pitch. 

Pick a tree about eighteen inches in diameter 
and cut a notch six inches deep clear across it 
and then split out some wide thin wedges and 
drive them up in the upper side of the notch so 
as to enclose all but one end. This forms a hole 
or tunnel. Put your bait in the back end and 
the trap in front of it so the animal has to walk 
over the trap. You don't have to be careful 
about "human scent" nor conceal your trap. If 
there is a chance on earth for a marten to get his 
foot in the trap he will do it. If you want him 
alive have the chain long enough to reach the 
groimd, or make a ground set in the r(.)ot of a 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 97 

tree. Don't use a trap stronger than a \"ictor 
No. 0. Look at your trap every 24 hours at the 
longest. 

Now, Mr. Get-'m-alive Mink Trapper, unless 
you have had some experience along this line 
you will need some advice. I ha\'e had six years 
of continuous experience in this line and will give 
you the benefit of what I have learned. If you 
are trapping a stream you should run your trap 
line with a boat. Find out how much you can 
cover twice a day with your boat, and DON'T 
make your trap line any longer. If the stream 
is deep and you are using a pc^wer boat you can 
probably cover as much as 25 miles a day. Up 
in the morning and back at night. But if you are 
pushing a pole boat, on a bad stream to navigate, 
perhaps you can't cover more than five miles, 
two ways, or twice a day. This determined, get 
traps enough to properly cover the ground 
(usually six or eight to the mile). Bait with the 
food that forms the greater part of the mink's 
diet in that particular section. Fish is the best 
bait where there is fish. Look for fresh signs 
and trails, and set in such places. Use big chunks 
of bait on the pan or trigger, so it won't dry out, 
and have it fresh. Don't spoil good meat or 
fish by dopeing it all up with some rotten old 
"scent." Put the scent up high in a bush over 
the trap so the wind Avill carry it a long distance, 
and thus draw the mink to the trap ; but don't let 
him get his nose on it or he may go away and 
never smell of the bait on the trigger at all. 



THE PBOPAGATION OF MINK AKD MARTEN 99 

Then say "the mink came right np to the tra,p 
and was too wise to go in." If you had your nose 
full of garlic do you think you could smell a 
rose? Cut small bits of bait and strew them 
from the mouth of the trap to the water's edge. 
Lay a piece of fish on a rock and lay another 
big rock on top of it, this holds its scent well. 
Keep the trap scented inside with good fresh fish. 
When you get a dead mink save the scent glands 
and sneeze them into a small bottle with a big 
neck. Put in about three or four times as much 
lard or skunk oil as you have of the scent, and use 
this to lubricate the working parts of the trap. 
If you don't get any dead ones you can sneeze 
the scent out of a live one and not hurt the ani- 
mal, but it usually takes two to do it and its no 
snap at that. Cover the trap to protect it from 
the sun and the frost, and if the weather is freez- 
ing at any time of the day or night, ])ut a thin 
board or shake in the trap so as to not interfere 
with the doors or the trigger, so the animal will 
be on the board instead of the cold iron. Be 
sure to look at them early and late. Carry a light 
cotton sack (not wool) about the size of a 25- 
pound flour sack and some clean cotton rags 
with you and when you find a mink that is wet 
and cold and about "all in," wrap him up loosely, 
(all but his nose) and put him in the sack and 
then carry him inside of your shirt to keep him 
warm till he is good and lively again. He may 
scratch around a little but he won't bite you 
through the sack, as long as you keep him warm. 



100 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

This is all the way 1 have ever found of saving 
a mink that I got in that condition. And that 
will go a long way towards taming him. Now 
when you get a wild one, if you can put him in 
with some tame ones it wnW go a long way 
towards keeping him contented. If you haven't 
any tame ones keep watch on the newly captured 
ones and if they are jumping, drive them into the 
nest box every 15 or 20 minutes or they Avill jump 
themselves to death. It is sometimes more 
trouble to keep a mink alive than it was to get 
him, but that is a part of the game and it is 
worth attending to. You may as well get your 
experience there as in any other place. Alink are 
not all alike in regard to the way they stand 
captivity; some tamely submit to it while others 
seem determined to commit suicide. Now for 
what I call a "receiving" pen on the trap line, 
I use four sheets of galvanized iron, 36x120 
inches, the edges bound \vith strips of lumber, 
(1x2) so they may be easily set up in a square 
and nailed together, and just as easily torn down 
and moved. Put them together with the strips of 
wood on the outside. Use ^-inch tacks to nail 
the edge of the iron to the strips, and reinforce 
the corners with a strip of iron on the other side. 
Get 28 or 30 guage iron if you can. Now for top 
and bottom, cut enough screen to make a 10^- 
foot square, and use this for the bottom. Level 
off your ground and spread it down ; set up the 
sides on it and turn up the screen around the 
edges and tack to the strips that bind the iron. 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 101 

Now make another square for the top and tack 
it all around or nail another strip over it and you 
have a mink-tight pen. L^se ^4-inch diamond 
mesh screen of No. 18 wire. \\'rap the selvage 
edges of the screen together with copper wire 
and bind the ends so they will not stretch. Use 
three poles for supports across the top of the 
pen. You can turn up one corner of the 
screen for a door or make one to hang on 
hinges. When you move you can tear this 
pen down in 15 or 20 minutes, and can set 
it up almost as quickly. Four sides, two rolls of 
screen and three poles is all there is to it. You 
should keep a good nest l)ox in it, well supplied 
with fine drv grass, and plenty of boughs for 
them to hide in. A small tub or bucket will do 
for water. Sometimes a wild mink will refuse 
to eat. Then if you can, get some live lish and 
put them in the tub. Only put in enough for a 
feed, for they will fish them all out and "cache" 
them, no matter how many there are. A canvas 
to spread over the top of this pen will sometimes 
serve to keep them quiet. You should always 
have one along. 

Now if you have your home pen on the bank 
of a stream where wild mink run up and down, 
here is another trap that is a winner. Or if you 
have a sort of permanent or head-quarters camp 
on a stream where there are mink you can use 
this trap to an advantage. This is what I call 
my "Log" trap. I got the idea from the traps 
that we used to make by boring a two-inch hole 



THE PBOPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 103 

in the end of a log, and poking the bait in it, and 
then driving sharpened nails around it so they 
stick through into the hole. It is made by taking 
a section of a pine log twelve inches long and 
about seven inches in diameter and boring a hole 
through it endwise three inches in diameter. 
Then get some brass spring wire, fifteen guage, 
cut five pieces each twelve inches long and 
sharijen one end. These are to take the place of 
the nails in the end of the log. But instead of 
being set in the end of the log they are set so 
that the point ()f the barb is about five inches 
from the end that the mink goes into. And 
instead of being solid like the nails were they 
spring back when the mink pokes his head in, 
but spring out, setting the point into the hide, 
when he tries to back out. So that when he 
shoves his head past these points he can still go 
in but can't back out. Now you must cut 
"flutes" or grooves, one-quarter inch wide and 
deep enough at the inner end so that the spring 
gafif can be sprung back far enough to bring the 
point even with the inside of the tunnel, or hole 
in the log. Bend the brass wires into gaffs as 
shown in drawing and put them in as shown, 
using a staple driven over the gaff to adjust the 
point, to the proper place. Set this log in the side 
of your pen, being sure to get it right end to. You 
need not be afraid of the mink that are in the 
pen getting out if the trap is properly built, but 
you will, every now and then, find an extra mink 
in with the others. 



104 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

Now I can't restrain myself from saying some- 
thing about the unsportsmanlike, unbusinesslike 
and unprincipled act of trapping out of season. 
It ought not be necessary to mention it, for any 
man that has as much sense as a ten-year-old boy 
had ought to know better than to trap for 
unprime hides. Its on the same principle as 
stealing green watermelons so nobody could 
have them when they are ripe. A mere child 
might be excused for the first ofifense and let it 
serve as a lesson ; but it is inexcusable in a grown 
man and the only way it can be accounted for is 
that he is either a damn fool or a damn rascal. 
It was no doubt some individual who merited 
one or the other of these titles, or perhaps both, 
that was responsible for the saying that "any 
month that contains the letter 'R' is a proper 
month to trap in." THE ONLY TIME THAT 
YOU SHOULD TRAP FOR HIDES IS 
WHEN THEY ARE ENTIRELY WHITE 
ON THE INSIDE. WHEN THEY ARE 
P, R, I, M, E, PRIME. November 15 is early 
enough in Idaho. But September and October, 
NEVER. If you are trapping for live animals 
for breeding stock, you should not set a trap 
after there io a chance for a female to have a 
litter of young in her den, until the young are 
big enough to rustle for themselves, and have 
been for at least six weeks or two months. And 
then you should use every precaution to keep 
them alive after you have got them. That means 
from about March 1 to about August 15 or 20, 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 105 

that you should not trap at all. There are many 
of the natural resources of our country that have 
been abused and wasted but I know of none that 
has suffered more from ignorance and "pure 
cussedness" than that which is presided over by 
the hunter arul trai)per. Every true sportsman 
should be a self-appointed guardian of fish, game, 
and fur animals; not a poacher. He should like- 
wise appoint himself a committee of one to make 
the game hog and poacher hard to catch when- 
ever one shows up. 



106 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 



CHAPTER X 

SLAUGHTERING AND PRESERVING 
MEAT FOR ANIMAL FOOD. 

There is a Aast difference between "slaughter- 
ing"" an animal and murdering one. If you are 
going to kill an animal, do it decently and 
humanely. Don't do as 1 have seen some men ; 
take an old ax and batter an animal's head in, 
in a half-dozen places before hitting on the spot 
directly over the brain. If you can't strike 
straight, can't see straight, can't shoot straight, 
and don't know where to strike or shoot, let some 
one else do it. 

To locate the vital spot on a horse's head 
draw a line from the left ear across the forehead 
to the right eye, and then one from the right 
ear to the left eye and there you have it where 
the lines cross. I never use an axe or hammer 
to "knock out" the animal, ammunition isn't 
very expensive and it is SURE if properly used. 
Stand about six feet from the animal and shoot 
within a radius of one inch of where these lines 
cross and the animal will not suff"er. The brain 
and every nerve in the body are put out of com- 
mission instantly and the animal can feel no 
pain. Don't use a toy "pop," but get a 30-30 
rifle or a 38 calibre pistol, or bigger. A Colt's 
Automatic, 38 calibre, is a good gun for this, or 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 107 

most anything else. Your animal shot, you 
should cut the throat crosswise just back of the 
jaws, severing- both jugular veins. , When the 
blood is about all drained out of the body finish 
cutting off the head, unjointing the neck at the 
base of the skull. You can do this with an 
ordinary butcher knife. To get the animal well 
bled it is best to have the hind parts on ground 
a little higher than where the front parts lay, 
and then roll the carcass over from side to side. 
It is very important to get all the blood out in 
order to keep the meat. Now roll the animal 
up on its back and block it up with a chunk on 
each side. Take your skinning knife and cut 
around the fetlocks. Now cut down the inside 
of the hind legs, not to the vent as in skinning 
fur animals, but to a point between the hind legs 
so that it will leave all the thick skin which is 
well covered with hair, on one side, and the thin 
skin that has but little hair on it, on the flank 
side. If you leave all the heavy, well haired 
skin on the butt of the hide, you will get the 
benefit of it when the hide is tanned; but if you 
split up the hind leg so a part of this heavy skin 
is on the flank side, it will be trimmed off and 
wasted when the hide is made up into a rug, and 
a similar disadvantage ensues if it is to be made 
into leather. Now cut down the inside of the 
front legs to a point directly between them. Cut 
from there up the neck and back down the belly 
to the vent and around it. On a gelding cut 
around the sheath. Now begin to skin, using 



108 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

the knife to keep the flanks from sticking to the 
hide and wherever else necessary, but don't score 
nor cut the hide. Skin the legs first and then the 
body down as near the back bone as is conven- 
ient. Take the chunk out from one side and let 
the carcass roll that way being" careful to have 
the hide under it so as to keep it clean. Skin 
the upper side to the back bone and roll over on 
the other side and do likewise. Now roll up on 
the back and split from the brisket to the tail. 
Use a light axe to split the pelvis. Cut in with a 
knife and find the joint in the pelvis bone; it will 
be shown by a little ridge exactl}" in the center. 
Now take a hand-saw and split the brisket to 
well up between the front legs and finish through 
to the neck with the axe. Cut off the hind legs 
at the HOCK joint, not the gambrel. The hock 
is about six inches below the gambrel, and does 
not bend. It can be unjointed with a jack-knife. 
Split the tail to the end and skin out, leaving the 
tail on the hide. Now put in your gambrel and 
swing the animal clear of the ground. The gam- 
brel should be of good strong timber, preferably 
round, as it grew, and flattened on each side of 
both ends to a thickness of about two and one- 
half inches, making the top edge a little the 
thinnest. Bore some holes through the gambrel 
so you can stick pins through and spread the legs 
from four to five feet apart, according to the size 
of the animal. Stick a pin through the gambrel 
outside of the leg, so that when you cut the meat 
down, the heavy side will not slip off and fall in 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 10!) 

the dirt. Fasten a chain around the center of the 
§am1:)rel and haul away. Now the animal swings 
clear of the ground, cut around the rectum and 
the intestines will roll out. Cut them loose in 
the back near the kidneys and the abdominal 
cavity is cleaned to the diaphragm. Now the 
aesophagus runs through the diaphragm and has 
to be cut off. Pull up and cut into as far from 
the stomach as possible. "Save the liver for the 
mink." Now run around the diaphragm with 
your knife, keeping close to the ribs. Save the 
diaphragm for the mink. Take out the heart 
and lungs and souse in a bucket of Avater. Cut 
off the front legs at the knees; cut off the tail 
bone and split the backbone, leaving a little meat 
hang at the end c^f the neck, and the job is done. 
Let the meat hang till the animal heat is all out 
of it. Cut it down leaving three ribs on the hind 
quarter. Now is when the pins through the end 
of the gambrel come into play. AMien you are 
going to slaughter an animal do not feed or water 
in the morning, unless it will be quite late in the 
day before you get around to killing. 

If you are in a high altitude where the air is 
dry you can hang this horse meat up in a meat 
house that is fly tight, and it will case over and 
keep a month or six weeks in the hottest weather. 
If you should have a damp, rainy spell, and the 
meat begins to "slime" and get strong, just take 
a blow-torch and blow it all over good and keep 
it cased. The meat house should be where it 
will get all of the wind and should be screened 




How a Corner Is Notched Together- 
and a Fox 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 1 1 1 

in, not boarded up tight. If a fly should get zo 
the meat and "blow" it, don't cut the piece off, 
but take the blow torch and blow it again. That 
will prevent the fly-blows from hatching. An 
ordinary cayuse will dress about 600 pounds. 
That will feed 100 mink or 75 marten 24 days. 
Now if you are located in a climate that is humid 
and hot in the summer, you will either have to 
feed more animals or have a refrigeration jilant 
or lose some meat. If you are keeping a big 
stock of breeding animals it is best to have a 
refrigeration plant any way, for it is much 
cheaper to winter a horse in the ice-box than in 
the stable. You can buy all kinds of old horses 
in the fall for $5.00 per head, but in the spring 
any horse is supposed to be worth his winter's 
keep. A fur farm should be located on a stream 
where you can get water power enough to run an 
ice machine. Don't try to put up ice enough to 
kee]) your meat by the old ice-box method. The 
labor will eat up your profits and the business 
will fail. 



112 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 



CHAPTER XI 

A SCHOOL, ITS PURPOSE, AND THE 
ADVISABILITY THEREOF 

A great many peo])le who have visited this 
ranch and got an inkling- of the future of the fur 
farming industry, have requested that they be 
allowed to send a son, a friend or in some 
instances, to come themselves, to learn what they 
can of this business : Raising Mink and Marten. 
Mr. R. of Spokane, was up here on a hunting 
and fishing trip. He visited the Mink ranch, now 
writes: "Here, Mr. Gates, I have a son that is 
20 years old; he has been through grammar 
school and high school, and still we are unde- 
cided as to a suitable business or profession for 
him. He doesn't know himself what he wants 
to be. But I think I can see a good business 
career ahead for the scientific fur farmer. The 
business would just suit my boy for he doesn't 
care for the city and seems to take naturally to 
the woods. Of course we were aware of this 
inclination in him but heretofore we have been 
unable to find a business that he is adapted to 
and that would be suitably remunerative. Now 
I just wish you would take him out there to your 
ranch and teach him what you know about the 
mink game, and I will i)ay you your price for it." 
I told him that I could not take one lone student, 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MABTEN 113 

but if I could get several I might attempt to 
teach them. He replied that he could get me as 
many as I wanted and urged me to consider the 
matter. 

This request has been made by several, but I 
do not consider it so much because these people 
request it. as I do because the business demands 
it. There are hundreds of ])eople that are 
anxious to get into this business, but they don't 
know how to go about it. There is money in the 
business, but not unless you understand it. You 
will meet a launch of hard luck in any business 
if you don't thoroughly understand it. 

We can sell all the breeding stock that we can 
raise at from $50.00 to SlSO.bo a pair. But we 
can not guarantee the ]:)urchaser success with 
them because we have no guarantee that said 
purchaser knows how to handle them. On the 
contrary, we are pretty sure that he does not. 
Now if we were conducting a school, we would 
be able to supply our graduate students, or the 
parties engaging their services, with breeding 
stock that they were used to handling, thus 
insuring success for our students and the parties 
employing them. This we MUST do. or our 
school will be a failure. Now the hardest thing 
in the w^orld for a man to dci, whether serving in 
the capacity of laborer, mechanic, foreman or 
superintendent, is to serve the best interests of 
a man or company that don't understand their 
own business, don't know wdiat they want done. 
and don't know how to do it themselves. If a 



114 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

man would instruct a laborer or mechanic or 
presume to criticise his work, he should be able, 
yes, thoroughly competent, to take up the tools 
and do the work himself. Otherwise lie is not fit 
for a foreman directly in charge. A superin- 
tendent may not be able to perform all of these 
mechanical feats, nor pack as heavy loads as the 
laborer, but he should be able to pick competent 
foremen. Therefore, young man, (I don't care 
how much money >'our "dad" has, nor how smart 
you think you are) if you don't know how to 
fall a stick of timber, notch a corner on a log 
house or cut a rafter pattern, you are totally unfit 
to preside over this work. This rule applies to 
carpenter work, l:)lacksmithing, and painting; all 
included in building a boat. It applies to hunt- 
ing, trapping, packing a horse, handling a boat 
on rough water, guiding a party in the woods 
and mountains, laying out a fur farm, installing 
a water system, figuring the amount of power 
that can be generated by a certain stream, and 
installing machinery. 

Now of course this work isn't fur farming 
proper, but the fur farmer will have to deal with 
it more or less. Therefore he should be, to a 
considerable extent, familiar with it. Then how 
much more necessary will it be for him to under- 
stand fur farming proper? Such as trapping 
live animals, handling them, feeding them, doc- 
tfjring them, breeding and raising the young, 
skinning and stretching the hides, caring for the 
fur, tanning, manufacturing and selling it? Of 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 115 

course we can never hope to teach the young fur 
farmer all there is to the carpenter's, painter's, 
and l)lacksmith's trades, nor do we wish to do so; 
but we could and would teach and train him in 
such branches of these trades as would combine 
to his advantage in conducting this business. 
In case of emergency he should be able to nail on 
a horse shoe, weld a broken iron or mend a har- 
ness. It isn't the cost of the repair alone, in the 
city sho]), but it's the time, delay and expense of 
getting it there and back. 

There are several other things that a man 
should know if he is going to live a life that 
brings him hito the woods, such as fighting a 
forest fire, swimming, life saving in fire or water, 
resusticating a victim of smoke or a drowned 
man, getting out of the woods or mountains 
when lost or better yet, to never get lost, first aid 
to the injured b}' gunshot or broken bones, and 
certain hygienic rules especially useful in the 
wilderness. 

Such knowledge is an asset to any man whether 
he is a fur farmer, clerk, or banker. At least, 
that is my judgment; but whether it will be 
shared by a sufficiently large number who would 
be willing to patronize and contribute to such a 
school, is a matter of conjecture. It is the pur- 
pose of this chapter to find out this one thing. I 
shall be glad to hear from such people as are 
able and willing to foster such an enterprise. 




;-<^*f ^-w-*-" if-watoK 






. t 



"^ 






Log House Ready for Shakes 
(Fox on the Corner) 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 11^ 



CHAPTER XII 

GENERAL COMMENTS 

My vocation is that of a trapper and fur 
farmer; not an author or writer. Dear reader, 
please make allowance for this fact when you 
criticise this book. This is my first offense and 
my excuse for doing- it is that I am intensely 
interested in fur farming; I feel that I must tell 
what little 1 have learned to others and in return 
gather what information I can from other investi- 
gators, and incidentally, get the money to con- 
tinue my own part of it. Nobdy knows it all. 
No one man can hope to learn it all by himself. 
No two men see the same thing exactly alike, 
even though they stand side by side when it 
happens. Consequently, there will be a differ- 
ence of opinion on many questions pertaining to 
the business. Each man has his own belief and 
it is to be hoped, has reason for it. Eor instance, 
in Outdoor Life, October, 1915, we read:, over 
the name of B. F Tarman : "As to feeding the 
same (referring to mink) I use an inexpensive 
mush made of rice, wheat bread, corn bread, oat 
meal, mixed with a small portion of ground 
meat. Fish and game scraps are always in order, 
but do not attempt to feed too much meat. It is 
best to soften the above described mush with a 



118 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

little sweet milk. The animals will soon learn to 
like this kind of feed and will thrive on it." Now 
I will agree with Air. Tarman, so far as the wel- 
fare of his own domestic stock is concerned, but 
should he attempt to pick up a bunch of wild 
mink and feed them this kind of a diet, I fear he 
would need more stretching boards instead of 
mink pens. That has been my experience. 
Furthermore, this diet may agree with a certain 
bunch of mink, but how will it agree with the 
stockholder's dividends 

Out in Idaho rice costs "3 pounds for a quar- 
ter," wheat flour from $1.75 to $2.10 per sack of 
50 pounds, corn meal three cents a pound, oat 
meal two and a half cents, lard for shortening 
twelve and a half to fifteen cents per pound, and 
"cracklings" (the fatty scraps out of which the 
lard has been extracted) three cents per pound, 
milk, in town, costs ten cents per cj[uart. Lean 
meat scraps are almost an unknown quantity in 
a butcher shop now days, and I have never 
known a mink to eat fat. Fish and game scraps 
are not always in season and a mink has to eat 
the year around. It costs time, and therefore 
money, to concoct a feed after this prescription, 
and I am wondering what Mr. Tarman considers 
"inexpensive." What would it cost to feed one 
mink or a hundred, a year on this diet? Of 
course, in feeding a hundred of them a man 
would get the benefit of wholesale prices on his 
groceries, but that would save him only about 
10%. Remember, we must not let a mink eat 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 119 

his head off before he is ready for market. It 
seems there are se\eral "Mink men" making this 
very mistake. As to that injunction about "feed- 
ing too much meat." I have heard that before, 
but I would like to ask, WHY? Is not a mink 
strictly and absolutely a meat or fish eating ani- 
mal in the wild state? Of course fish is not meat 
for religious purposes, but for that only. When 
it comes to food values it is meat. No herbiv- 
orous animal will eat it and few carnivorous 
animal will refuse it. 1 have fed one pen of mink 
fc:ir eight straight months on horse meat alone 
while I fed others a mixed diet of meat, and bread 
and milk, and the straight meat eaters looked 
the best, and I never lost a mink by dying 
whereas I did lose one in the other pen. One, 
(and I might say the chief), difficulty, collecting 
a bunch of wild mink for breeding purposes, is 
to get them to eat bread and milk and live with- 
out meat or fish. Mink don't want nor need a 
changeable diet. Lean meat, and a little bread 
and milk is the ideal menu for them. Or at least 
I have found it so for the mink of this section. 
I beheve, however, that in sections of the country 
where they live exclusively on fish, that fish 
should for some time after their capture, form 
the chief article of their diet. I believe that a 
mink farm located where fish were the only avail- 
able food (but that in plenty), would be a success. 
And I know that a mink will live and do well on 
horse meat alone. I am stating these facts, not 
to dispute the word of others, but that they may 



120 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

know and profit by my experience as I have by 
theirs. I think that by reading each others 
books, and letters in the H. T. T.,we may all help 
one another. If you read my book, I would 
advise you to read White, Tarman, Norton, 
Harding and any others that have had any exper- 
ience with the business. They may not agree 
with me but they may be right at that. I make 
mistakes like others, but I do try to never state 
anything for a fact, unless I know it to be a fact 
and can pro\'e it. 

There is a difference between a thing being 
possible and commercially practical. It is a 
well established fact that it is possible to raise 
mink in captivity. I learned that the second 
year that I was in the business, others have dem- 
onstrated it, but I have been three or four years 
demonstrating that it is a commercial success 
and a good place for a man to put a few hundred 
or a few thousand dollars. I could not afford to 
keep it up just for a fad or hobb}'. I need the 
money, and if I did not think that i could get 
more of it by raising mink and marten than by 
doing something else, I would go to doing some- 
thing else. Now I am going to venture just one 
little theory, and state it as a possibility only. 

Take for a unit five female mink and one buck. 
Eighty percent of the females will breed each 
year, (but this is too low, I think it is fairer to 
figure ninety). Then four will have kittens; 
they average five to a litter, then we will figure 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 121 

on 20 kitens. It costs less than one cent a day 
to feed a mink properly on milk and horse meat. 
A kitten will sell for breeding stock when it is 
six months old, but say we keep them a year. 
A June kitten will make a good fur the following 
January, or will breed in February or March. 

Now : 
To feeding 20 kittens at 20 cents a day, 

365 days $73.00 

To feeding 6 breeders at 6 cents a day, 

365 days 21.90 



Total feed bill for laising 20 mink $94.90 

At present I can get from $50.00 to $75.00 per 
pair for ranch bred and raised mink. 

Then 10 pairs at $50.00 a pair $500.00 

Cost of feeding them 94.90 

For running expenses and interest on 

money $405.10 

To go a little farther with our theorizing, sup- 
pose the cost of these six mink were $25.00 
apiece. We lose one, then there is 5 at $25.00 
each, or $125.00. 

On a properly euipped farm, one attendant 
could attend to 1,000 mink. Then for attending 
this six or even 25, the cost would be only about 
$25.00, since a good man for this purpose can be 
hired (as laborer, not superintendent) for 
$1,000.00 per year. Now to our $125.00 invest- 



122 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 

ment, suppose we add v$25.00 for labor, and we 
lose one out of the six mink by accident or dis- 
ease, making v$l 75.00. Xow from $405.10 we 
take $175.00 and we have $230.10 as interest on 
$125.00 for one year. That is pretty near 200% 
and I have figured safe all the way along. There 
is the interest on the money invested in the plant 
and the superintendent's salary to come out of 
this, but I believe I have made more than suf- 
ficient allowance for this. However, this is only 
a casual estimate to ascertain if there is a possi- 
bility or a probability of this business ever pay- 
ing dividends. All the work will have to be 
systematized and brought up to a scientific basis 
before we can state what the actual profits will 
be. Cost of operating must be cut to the mini- 
mum by careful and judicious management. 

Now as to what animals to raise, the question 
is not hard for me to decide. I think when a man 
does one thing, or two at the outside, and does 
them well, he has done enough. I have had 
plenty of opportunities to get into the fox busi- 
ness, and to start in the muskrat, coon, 'possum, 
and skunk business, but I don't understand them 
as I do mink and marten, and I have still got 
lots to learn about these animals, so I have no 
business with these others. 

1 at first believed, and do yet, that there is 
more money in mink and marten than there is in 
any other animals, black fox not excepted. I 
like these animals, and never lose interest in 
them. This climate is most admirably adapted 



THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MARTEN 123 

to their health and well being, as well as man's, 
and I am located in the heart of a natural mink 
and marten country. 1 know every square mile 
of the country for miles around, and that helps 
some in a rugged game country. We are within 
easy reach of abundant food supplies and have a 
location for a fur farm that could not be sur- 
passed if made to order. 

It is my intention to organize and incorporate 
a company for the purpose of raising mink and 
marten, and possibly conducting a fur farming 
school. I have no time to correspond with the 
idle and curious, but will always be glad to hear 
from anyone engaged in any kind of fur farming, 
or desiring to buy stock in this company. This 
business affords a [)leasant and profitable voca- 
tion for any man that likes out door life, and likes 
animals. But if you do not, I would not advise 
you to go into it. There is another advantage 
in fur farming, this branch in particular, that is, 
there will be no competition to push a man to 
the wall for a number of years. The man that 
gets in the game now will have ample time to 
make his stake before mink and marten hides, 
or breeding stock of these species becomes a 
drug on the market. 

This book contains all the information that I 
have on the subject to the present time, but a 
revised and supplemented edition will appear 
when I haA'e gained enough more information to 
justify it. 



124 THE PROPAGATION OF MINK AND MABTEN 

With best wishes for the success of the indus- 
try and all engaged in it, and hoping others will 
join us. 

J am. sincerely, 

W. G. GATES. 
Pritchard, Idaho. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 







002 835 597 A • 



